Dark Wings
by DragonGirl135
Summary: Hiccup left Berk on Toothless after the awful treatment he faced for years. Now, he reunited with an old friend and is helping many Vikings see that dragons are not the enemies. Unfortunately, his past comes back to haunt him and he is forced to confront those who made his life hell. Will Hiccup ever be free, or will he let his dark anger consume him from the inside out?
1. Frustrations and Reunions

A/N: CHAPTER 1 REUNIONS IS NOW UDATED(5/30)

* * *

Hiccup's POV

One week.

It had only been one week since I left Berk and escaped with Toothless. I couldn't stand being in that horrible village that I used to call home. Heck, it was never a home, it was Hel and I would rather be stuck with Loki and any other horrid God than return to Berk. Toothless and I were hiding out on an unknown island, surrounded by nothing but trees and water. It was risky to stay somewhat out in the open, but it didn't seem that anyone used this piece of land in the past hundred years.

I heard a growl from behind and turned to see Toothless fighting over his fish with some wild Terrors. Toothless was laying on the ground, his large black body sweeping over the area we were in, protecting his fish. It was funny to see three small Terrors fight with Toothless for a piece of his fish. The green Terror stood his ground, scraping its feet against the ground and ready to blow fire at Toothless, but failed. Toothless shot a small plasma blast at the Terror, immediately causing it to deflate and fall. I chuckled before coming to sit down next to my friend.

I tossed a fish to the Terror that was temporarily dazed before getting back up and eating the fish that I offered. I looked down to see Toothless huffing and rolling his large green eyes, but I just laughed. It was funny to see my friend jealous and annoyed by such a persistent Terror.

"Not so fireproof on the inside, are you?" I laughed once again before the Terror curled up next to me, my hand feeling its heartbeat pounding softly, yet steadily. The smile that was once on my face slipped off as I thought about the inaccurate history the Vikings had on dragons for thousands of years. "Everything we know about you guys is wrong. . ."

Toothless and the Terrors finished off their fish while I polished off my own piece of fish and bread before stretching my body and getting up to look at the afternoon sky. The sun was shining high with only a few clouds in sight, but I hoped they would disappear soon since Toothless and I didn't want to risk being caught in the morning by raiders or anyone else.

I pulled out the map that was in one of the many bags attached to Toothless' saddle, trying to get an idea where we would be going next. I could hear Toothless shift his body next to me, trying to view the map as well.

"We're out of Berkian territory, but thank the Gods we're nowhere near Outcast waters." I said, moving my finger against the lines of the map that showed the archipelago so far. "Hairy Hooligans, Meatheads, Bog Burglars, Berserkers, the Outcasts, and so many other tribes, we won't be safe anywhere. If they caught us, we would be dead." Toothless growled in response, mimicking my frustration of what we were to do next. We were slowly running out of supplies and needed to restock soon, winter would come in a few months and if we didn't have a plan, we were better off dead.

"We can't go to any of the core tribes without facing death and there's no way we're going back to Berk, I'd rather be killed by Alvin the Treacherous." My joke seemed to fall flat on Toothless, he smacked me with his tail in response. "Okay, I get it. Sorry. Maybe we can scour the lands of the Meatheads without getting caught? Then again, their entire island is built for the idea of defense." Toothless and I both let out noises of frustration, irritated at the fact on how this was going to be harder than we thought.

Over the past hour, Toothless and I had to stop making plans, the more we tried, the frustration just kept on building. I left Toothless to his own devices, while I just roamed the small island we were on. The trees were tall and untouched by anything or anyone, surprisingly. There were no signs of a Viking presence or a dragon that lingered about. I rested my body against one of the largest trees on the island, and let sleep take over me, hoping that there was a solution by the time night came.

 _I woke up in my room in the dark night. My desk was covered in papers, the floor messy with blankets, and the walls covered with papers of inventions. I got up slowly, in fear of why I was back in Berk. Was I captured? Where was Toothless? I could hear voices coming from downstairs, and I immediately raced down, trying to figure out answers. Nobody was here and I opened the front door, but was met with whispers from the villagers._

" _He's the reason for all the trouble we have in our home!"_

" _Maybe he's a bastard that Stoick adopted, since Valka couldn't provide him with a true son."_

" _The future generation will be in ruins if Hiccup takes the Chieftainship!"_

 _I tried to run away from the voices, but they were getting louder each passing second. I crashed against a strong chest before falling to the ground. I looked up to see Snotlout wearing a haughty smirk on his smug face._

" _Did you really think you could be better than me?" Snotlout spoke. "I'm stronger and faster than you, Useless! Uncle Stoick is just waiting to get rid of you so I can become his heir!"_

 _I turned around from his taunts to see Astrid glaring heatedly at me. "Did you honestly think I would ever like you? You're weak and a coward whose barely good at being a smith!"_

 _A hulking figure appeared behind Astrid and I immediately froze. Stoick glared deeply at me, his disappointment shown clearly through every inch of his body that held not even the slightest bit of love for me._

" _Such a disappointment," he started. "How is that my Valka died protecting you, a boy that's brought nothing but shame upon my village?" Stoick snapped his fingers and suddenly I was dragged, but not before the kicks and punches came from various villagers. The metallic taste of blood was building in my mouth before I spat it out, earning curses from the horrible villagers. "Don't worry, you'll die just like your filthy dragon."_

 _My head shot up to see Toothless strapped down to a post, unable to move as his entire body was trapped. His green eyes were shining with such anger, only reserved for those who he didn't trust or just despised._

 _Stoick pulled out his large sword as he took his place next to Toothless. I struggled against Snotlout's grip, attempting to run and free Toothless at the risk of death._

" _You will die, boy." Stoick spoke. "Though you'll watch your filthy dragon die first."_

 _I struggled harder against Snotlout's grip, but it was too late. By the time I escaped, Stoick had swung his mighty sword. Toothless' head came off easily, the blade had little trouble of slicing his head off, as Toothless' head rolled onto the dirt, tumbling in front of me. Toothless' green eyes quickly lost its light, the color of his scales were graying and the blood from his head spilled and left a trail that splattered against my face._

" _NO!" I screamed, but my screams were ignored as the sound of cruel jeers and mocking followed me into death as the blade reached my own neck._

" **NO!"** I shouted. My body was drenched in sweat, and I was pale and shaking. I buried my head in between my knees, trying to calm my intense heartbeat. "It was a nightmare, a sick nightmare." I could hear footsteps and growling, before some dirt fell onto me. I looked to see Toohtless scouting for any danger that surrounded me. When he found no threat, Toothless carefully approached me, his green eyes full of life and worry. I pounced on him immediately, my arms wrapped around his neck that was still attached to his body. Toothless cocked his head to the side, wondering why I was acting like this. I just gave him a smile to reassure him, but he wasn't buying it.

"Let's fly Toothless, it'll make us both feel better." I hoped onto his back, guiding him to glide over to where we were earlier before I moved away from him. I grabbed the supplies that were still on the ground before getting back onto Toothless and guiding him to the night sky. The only source of light was the full moon that shined bright despite the darkness of the night. We stayed up in the darkness for a few hours until my body started to shiver, signaling to me that enough was enough. I started to bring Toothless down, but we noticed a lone ship in the water headed North. I steered Toothless upwards, but it seemed to be too late. A net was shot into the sky, wrapping around Toothless' prosthetic fin.

"No!" I shouted. I attempted to grab the dagger that was in my vest to try and cut through the net that was causing us to plummet to our deaths or even worse, but I failed. Another net came to wrap around us, trapping me against Toothless as it caused us to fall faster than before.

Our bodies fell against the deck of a ship as my head hit against the wood, immediately knocking me out. The last thing I saw was a face of a young girl with blonde hair.

 **Three Days Later**

I woke up with an aching pain from my head, causing me to sit up with a start, which I mistakenly did. The pain increased and I slowly raised my hand to make sure the wound wasn't as bad as it felt. I felt a bandage around my head that was tightly secured, and I didn't know if that was a positive or negative sign seeing that I'm in the prisons below an unknown ship.

I got up slowly but the vertigo was killing me and I felt as if I would pass out.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A voice warned. I turned slowly to see a figure in the shadows of the prison I – we – were in. I remembered the quick glimpse of the face of a blonde girl that was present before I blacked out on this ship. The girl stepped out of the shadows and stopped in front of me, a smirk wide across her face despite the situation we were in.

 _That smirk. . . I know that smirk._

Despite it being night outside and dark in the prison, I could make out a few of her features. She was short, a few inches below my height, that was for sure. Her long blonde hair was messy, the braid that it was in coming undone. She wore a red dress that showed off the gentle curves of her body, a sash of black and gold resting at her waist. A dark pair of boots matched the light fur vest that rested upon her shoulders. Gold bands decorated her arms and a golden necklace hung around her neck, signifying the wealth of her tribe. She was beautiful, someone who could rival Astrid in looks.

If there were other guys around, they would've noticed her curves or her prominent chest, but it was the eyes that drew me in. They were as blue as the ocean floor and full of mischief that just drew you in. They were fierce, ready to observe one with a challenge, making her deadly at all costs.

My eyes widened as I realized who the girl was.

"Camicazi." I said. Her smirk grew wider and her blue eyes twinkled with mischief.

"Ready for an adventure, Hiccup?"

 _This is going to be one interesting journey._


	2. Worst Father

Stoick's POV

To say the hunt for the nest was a disaster was an understatement. It was an utter failure and embarrassment. Half of Berk's fleet was lost to those damned dragons and I could already feel the headache coming on from the letter I would have to write to Chief Mogadon for more supplies. We were gone for two weeks, so I hoped for good news when it came to the teens training menu against dragons. The ships approached the docks slowly as myself and the other warriors viewed the various villagers waiting to greet us. I could see the anxious wives looking for their husbands, their eyes filled with fear if their husbands died in battle. Sisters watched if their brothers were still in one piece, mentally, emotionally, and physically. I let out a sigh of disappointment, my frustration stemmed from the news that I would have to give to the families who lost someone during the hunt for the nest. I saw Gober approaching the decks, but his movements were stiff and slightly hesitant. Gobber instantly helped me out of the ship and took my basket full of supplies and was walking me back home.

"Well, I trust you found the nest at least?" he asked.

"Not even close." I replied with a bitter tone, not in the mood to discuss the failures for the hunt of the nest.

"Ah. Excellent."

"I hope you had a little more success than me."

"Well, if by success, you mean that your parenting troubles are over with, then... yes."

I stopped immediately and looked at Gobber. A look of apprehension crossed his face and it looked like he was trying to find the right words to say to me right now. _What in Thor's name is going on? What could Gobber find so hard to talk about, especially to me?_ Before he could open his mouth, a group of villagers passed by me, before rushing down to the docks and greeting the warriors who came home from fighting.

"Congratulations Stoick! Everyone is so relieved."

"Out with the old and in with the new, right?!"

"No one will miss that old nuisance!"

"The village is throwing a party to celebrate!"

My heart started to beat rapidly in my chest. _Is Hiccup gone? Maybe they're talking about him doing great in dragon training?! That has to be it! He's finally abandoned his crazy inventions and decided to become a true Viking!_

"He's . . . gone?"

Gobber turned around and gave me a sad look. He took off his helmet and rand his hand against his bald head. He breathed out a heavy sigh and looked like he was about to cry. "Listen Stoick… it's like this…"

 _Gobber's POV_

 _The arena was deadly silent. Hiccup gave the recruits and I a deadly before he ran like Hel out of the arena. I looked at the recruits and all of them quickly fazed out of their shock from Hiccup's outburst. I knew the lad didn't like the treatment from some of the teens and villagers, but my Thor! There was so much venom from the lad; I had no idea what to do!_

" _I can't believe Useless thinks that he can talk like that" Astrid said. She gripped her axe and looked at the spot where Hiccup once stood. "He's lucky he ran away or my axe would've met his head."_

" _N-not to be rude" Fishlegs stuttered out. "But what he said was kind of the truth."_

 _We all whipped their heads to Fishlegs who looked afraid to speak anymore. Astrid stalked up to Fishlegs and held her axe dangerously in the air. "And what truth was_ _ **that**_ _Fishlegs?"_

" _You guys are cruel to him!" he finally said. "You put him down every time he tried to help, you beat him up and insulted him every single day, and you tortured him until he finally broke! No matter how many messes he made, he's—"_

" _He's_ _ **what**_ _, Fish?" Snotlout said. His nose finally stopped bleeding, but there was a bit of dried blood near his mouth. His eye was starting to darken from Hiccup's punch. "He's a nuisance on Berk! He made tons of messes that we had to clean up! He almost burned down my house last month with his fire prevention project! Useless made more messes than those damn dragons!_

" _Yeah!" the twins agreed. "Hiccup made more mess than they do!"_

" _He almost cut my head off when he tried to launch an axe at that Terror that was eating all the fish during the raid last year!" Ruffnut said._

" _Useless should just get eaten by a dragon so he can save us all the trouble!" Tuffnut said._

 _Astrid looked back to Fishlegs and rolled her eyes at him. "And I don't know why_ _ **you're**_ _yelling at us. It's not like you tried to help him anyway!"_

" _You're right, I didn't." Fishlegs bowed his head in shame. "I stood by and watched you guys tear Hiccup apart for years and I didn't do a thing. But at least I know what I did was wrong, but do you?"_

 _Astrid was taken aback by that. "That doesn't mean—"_

" _ **See!?**_ _You can't even admit it." Fishlegs looked Astrid in the eye for the first time in his life. "Hiccup was right; you're so blind to your own ideas, that it will get you killed one day."_

 _Astrid's face was completely red with anger or embarrassment. I couldn't really tell but I was done hearing their complaints about Hiccup._

" _ENOUGH!" I roared out in anger. "Training is done for the day. Go on now."_

 _The teens looked like they wanted to protest, but I gave them a look that made them leave the arena fast. I finally breathed out a sigh of relief and l sunk to the ground on my knees as Hiccup's words were still heavy in the air. I knew the boy was always hurt from how people would always talk him down and ignore him, but I didn't think it hurt him that much. I looked around the arena and saw Gothi staring down at me. She looked sad and shook her head and walked away from the metal dome and returned home. I started to clean up the arena from the Nadder's mess which took a few hours, by the time I returned to the forge, it was night._

 _The forge was cold and weapons were out of their places. There were some papers thrown on the floor and some tools were out of their boxes. The place was slightly messy, as if someone rushed in, grabbed some things, and rushed out. Must be Hiccup, he's the only one who knows where everything is. I cleaned up his mess and left for home. Something felt strange, but I couldn't put my finger on it._

 _The next morning…_

 _I got cleaned up and headed down to the forge. When I opened the door, there was no warmth or banging from any hammers. The forge was the same as I left it last night. Maybe the lad's running late. I started to do some of the orders, but I would look back towards the door expecting Hiccup to run in with one of his crazy excuses about being late, but he never showed._

" _Hey, Sven!" I yelled out to him. "Have you seen Hiccup, I can't find the lad anywhere."_

" _Sorry Gobber," he said. "I haven't seen the boy at all."_

 _I went back inside the forge and pulled the curtain to Hiccup's area, but it was completely empty. There were no drawings or notes of his inventions. The table was completely clear and even Astrid's name that he carved into the table was crossed out. I ran out of the forge ignoring the protests of some of the villagers who wanted their weapons sharpened or tools made._

 _I ran uphill toward the Haddock's home and opened the door. I raced up to Hiccup's room and slammed the door open. The room was empty. There were no drawings, his blanket was gone, and the toy his mother gave him wasn't present either. The room was so bare; it was like no one lived in it at all. I knew right at once, that Hiccup was gone._

Stoick's POV

Gobber nodded solemnly to my question as my mind raced to get a handle on what he just said. I turned around from him and looked out toward the sky. _How could it be?! First Valka and now Hiccup!?_

"What do you mean he's gone!?" I yelled.

Gobber jumped from my angry tone and looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. I quickly turned away from him and got my emotions under control. Men died during the attack and people needed to take their frustrations out on something. An idea popped into my head and I went with it.

"Tonight we feast!" I roared out. "Let's get these supplies out of the boats and get ready for tonight!"

The villagers cheered and were rushing to get to their homes and the Great Hall. I could feel Gobber's eyes burning in my back and when I turned around he was looking at me as if I was crazy. I walked past Gobber as his glare attempted to burn a whole through my back.

"A chief's first duty is to his people." I said. "Duty always has to come before family."

 _Night_

The Great Hall was packed with all the villagers as they danced, drank, and talked among themselves. The mood changed from earlier when it was despondent as those who lost a brother, father, or husband was paid the utmost attention to as I sent the men off to Valhalla and honored greatly. I sat at the high table with my brother – who seemed to be skipping after I told him about Hiccup's disappearance – some council members, Gothi, and Gobber. Gobber and Gothi were the only people who seemed not to be having fun. Gothi had a frown upon her wrinkled face while Gobber wore a scowl that didn't disappear at all since I announced the party.

"I can't believe you're celebrating that your son is gone." He said to me. He picked at his sausage, twirling it around on his plate and stabbing his fish repeatedly with his knife.

"Listen here Gobber," I didn't want to hear anything else from him. "Hiccup is probably out there hunting for trolls or Gods know what else. If he left, the only reason would be—"

"He wouldn't have left if you weren't such a horrible father!" Gobber yelled out.

The music immediately died down. Everyone turned to Gobber and I to see what was going on. _I was hoping to avoid such a big spectacle on Hiccup, but it couldn't be avoided. Not anymore thanks to Gobber._

"Everyone listen!" I said. I glared at Gobber before returning to address everyone. "Hiccup is gone. He apparently left after an incident from dragon training a week ago. Do not worry, it's being handled. Return to your celebrations and enjoy the rest of the night."

"What kind of father are you?" Gobber stood up and looked me in the eye. It was strange seeing such hatred from him, the only time I saw something like this was when he lost his leg and arm all those years back. "You are a fool Stoick! You may have a duty to the people of Berk, but you have a duty as a father as well. I would join you through all the battles and craziness in the past, but you are a failure as a father. If you showed some love to Hiccup and cared for his well-being, he would still be here!" He looked out to the villagers and glared at most of them. "I wish you all thought Hiccup was as useless as you really think he is. I wish that one day that Hiccup will aspire to something great and I _wish_ that we will need him and have to beg for his forgiveness for us to survive in the future!"

Gobber rushed out of the Great Hall, taking his anger and harsh criticism with him as he left. I shook my head and asked for the music to play again. The tension in the air was still there, but it quickly went away with those who were drunk got everyone else's attention. I quickly sat down and stared at the doors Gobber went through as Gothi left a piercing look of criticism at me.

Astrid's POV

I was absolutely bored at this party. Gobber's outburst was the only form of entertainment I got as I watched the twins and Snotlout try and drink each other under the table until the other vomited . . . or worse. The band was playing an upbeat song that matched the mood of the drunk citizens who were on a high after learning of Hiccup's disappearance. I didn't believe the story of Hiccup exploring new lands, it sounded like a load of crap and I was surprised that everyone was buying it. Then again, Hiccup created more disasters than solutions every single time he tried to help when dragons attacked. It felt strange that Hiccup was no longer on the island. There were less disasters and the villagers seemed to be in better moods, but I was curious.

 _How was it that one of the heirs to the core tribes who was rich in wealth and status disappear without a clue? How does the entire village suddenly switch allegiance from Hiccup to Snotlout in a matter of seconds? How is it, that Chief Stoick is throwing a party in celebration where his own son is gone?_

My mind swirled with more questions than answers. I knocked back the ale in my mug and enjoyed the slight burn in my throat. A meaty hand slammed down on the table where myself and the others sat. We all looked up to see Rijar leaning against the table, his beady eyes roaming my body, especially staying on my chest. He was the only guy who was close to Snotlout's constant annoying flirtations. He was tall and muscular, but his beady eyes and pasty skin, as well as disgusting rasp of a voice was such a turn off.

"Astrid, this party is starting to get dull." He said. "I say let's get out of here. I know a place behind the island where we can be alone."

I tried not to retch as his crooked smile revealed a set of yellow teeth. I don't know how this idiot had a pair that big to try and keep this up.

"The only thing that's dull is your lame attempts to try and sleep with me." I spoke, my tone showing my frustration with this idiot.

"The only thing that's gonna touch me tonight is my pillow. When I sleep. Alone." I rolled my eyes while I heard the gang snicker at my words. "Don't you have a fiancé to go and pester?"

Rijar's crooked smile morphed into a scowl. "Don't mention Aslaug, she's such a prude."

"Just because she's committed to having sex until her wedding night, doesn't mean she's a prude. You should learn from her, at least than half the village could erase their opinion of you being a vile nympho who flirts with girls ten years his junior."

Laughter erupted around us when a few of the villagers caught wind of Rijar and I's conversation. A few dirty glares were also thrown towards Rijar. He glared hard at me before he left to go pester another girl in the corner of the Great Hall. Ruffnut's cackles brought my attention back to the others while I tried to keep up with the conversation of the succession of Berk's Chieftainship.

"Who cares about how Hiccup left?" Snotlout said. "I'm going to be Chief when I turn twenty."

"Remind me to get on the first boat off the island when that happens." I snorted.

"Only if you're not dead." Tuffnut said.

"Now that, would be amazing!" Ruffnut cackled. "Just imagine a Nightmare eating Snotlout right now!"

"I wonder what you would taste like." Tuffnut tore into his fish, chewing nosily for added effect.

"Desperation and failure." I smirked as I watched the twins laugh while Snotlout's cheeks reddened, from embarrassment or the effects of the ale we drank, I couldn't tell.

"Whatever." Snotlout snarled, his eyes lighting up in a silent fury at my words. "Useless is gone so let's drink to that!"

Snotlout and the twins put their cups together, quickly getting over their little spat and enjoying Hiccup's absence. I turned to my right to hear mumbling from Fishlegs who was sitting at the end of the table, away from us since he was still angry about the incident in the arena with Hiccup.

"Fishlegs." I said. He turned to me, but his eyes pierced me in a way that made me uncomfortable. "How'd you think Hiccup left Berk?"

Fishlegs eyes widened, but it didn't lessen his piercing stare. Before he could open his mouth, Tuffnut spoke up.

"Maybe he dug a hole and traveled underground into a new tribe." He said. We all raised eyebrows at that suggestion, looking at him if he was crazier than usual. "What?"

"Nothing." The rest of us said in unison. I turned to Fishlegs, waiting for his response.

"I don't know." He said. "Maybe he flew away."

"For someone so smart, you say some really stupid things Fish."I said, but the tone behind his words left me unnerved. "Humans can't fly, only dragons can."

"Maybe Hiccup grew wings and flew away." Snotlout laughed.

"Maybe he rode a dragon out of here!" Tuffnut laughed. "Maybe even a Night Fury!"

The twins and Snotlout were practically crying from laughing too hard. Snotlout fell out of his chair and onto the floor, which caused the twins to laugh even harder. I just shook her head and took a swig of Ruffnut's drink, she was too busy laughing to notice.

"Anything is possible." I heard Fishlegs say, his blue eyes burning with an intensity that frightened me.


	3. Memories and Escapes

Hiccup's POV

My body still ached from the fall, but I ignored the pain as I watched Camicazi carefully. I was still shocked that I met her again, but I didn't know what to make of the situation that we were in. I could tell Camicazi was here longer than me since her dress started to have some tears and she seemed nonchalant to our captivity, but then again, this was the same girl who convinced me to sneak onto her mother's warship and stole Soick's underwear when we were kids. I still remembered the rage of emotions Stoick was in and the laughter booming from Bertha's mouth when we were caught.

"How long have you been in here?" I asked her. I was honestly surprised that I spoke to her in a steady tone right now, my mind was still trying to wrap around the fact that we were trapped here together on this ship.

"Well you've been in here for at least three days, I've been here for almost a week." She said. Camicazi was calm, enjoying our current predicament as if we were on a beach just relaxing.

"How are we going to get out of here?" I looked around saw there were seven others cells nearby, but no prisoners. We were the only ones here.

"We'll be out of here soon enough Hiccup, don't worry."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Not to be the bearer of bad news, but if you hadn't noticed, we're trapped in a prison!" My shout left an echo throughout the cell as Camicazi looked shocked at my outburst. "Unless you burgalized the keys from a guard when I was knocked out, then we're pretty much screwed."

I was going to open my mouth again, but the door down the hall opened, with footsteps headed our way. Camicazi's expression turned grim and I turned tense at that.

She turned to me. "Hiccup, do you trust me?"

The footsteps approached quickly as my heartbeat sped up, conflicted by the answer I should give her. Camicazi looked at me, her blue eyes searched my green, trying to find an answer before I could speak. The footsteps came before I could open my mouth. I was kicked to the ground before I could even turn around. A black cloth was placed over my head as I heard Camicazi yell out for me as I was dragged off.

"Hiccup, trust me!"

I was dragged by two burly men, their calloused hands practically gripped the entirety of my thin arms. My head may have been covered, but I could still hear perfectly. The door to the prison closed and we moved into another part of the large ship. Another door opened and I was forced onto my knees as the scent of rich ale hit my clothed face.

"Leave us." A deep, burly voice said. That voice sounded so familiar, but I couldn't place it.

 _Why does he sound so familiar?_

"Oh Hiccup," he started. I flinched and he chuckled in response. "Of course I know your name, _Hiccup._ I was there when you were born. I was there when you were given your first sword at the age of two. I was there at Valka's funeral. I've been around for quite some time, and imagine my surprise when I not only captured the Bog-Burglar heiress, but the Hairy Hooligans heir apparent."

 _Wait. This voice is . . ._

The dark hood was removed from my face and I sneered immediately when I saw him.

"Alvin!" I shouted.

"Hello again, Hiccup." Alvin was just as I remembered him: Tall, overly muscular, and ugly. His dark and burly beard was long, it covered half of his armor. His shoulder armor still had spikes of the horns of his dead dragons, but it was his eyes that always scared me since I met him. His eyes were dead. There was nothing in them and he cared little about his own men or tribe.

"Do tell me Hiccup," he started. "What is Stoick's little runt wandering around in Outcast waters?"

"I'm no one's runt Alvin." I spat. Hearing my former father's name made me shake with anger. I couldn't stand hearing it. At least I could finally hold a score of catching him off guard. Alvin's eyes widened at my harsh words, but I could see the wheels in his head turning, trying to come up with a plan.

"It seems that you and the Hairy Hooligans had a falling out."

"Really?" I said. "I didn't notice, I'll be sure to send Stoick a card of how grateful I am."

"Let me guess, you broke some rules and got casted out?" Alvin asked. He leaned against the chair that was in front of me, enjoying my turmoil.

I hissed. "Something like that."

"Hiccup, join me." I jerked my head back in surprise at Alvin's offer.

"What?!"

Alvin chuckled. "You're just like me, cast away from your own tribe doing what you thought was right. Join me and we can have revenge against Stoick and the rest of the Hairy Hooligans."

I laughed. I laughed so hard that my sides started to hurt and my eyes were producing tears.

"Let's get something straight Alvin, I will never join you. You disobeyed orders and got people injured, one even died from what I was told. It is your fault that you were cast away, no one else's. In my opinion, being cast away was merciful, compared to death. My grandfather had a heart to let you live."

Alvin's face turned red. "You annoying runt!"

"I may be small, but that doesn't mean I can't fight back." I said. "You are nothing more than a horrible man who refuses to listen to authority. The difference between you and I, is that I left because no one would ever listen to the truth."

"And what truth is that, boy?" Alvin leaned in to me, our heads touching and our eyes clashing fiercely.

"Something you would never understand." A sharp pain immediately erupted from my side, causing me to fall over. I looked up to see Alvin holding a sword, the pummel of it pointed down, the source of my pain. Alvin grabbed my body and slammed me against the wall, pain spreading from the wound on my head to the throbbing coming from my feet. One of Alvin's hand wrapped around my throat, putting pressure on my windpipe and causing me to choke, black spots clouded my vision. Alvin let go of me, but not before kicking my chest, causing me to fly back a few feet.

"Get in here!" I heard Alvin say. Two of his men immediately came inside and picked me up. I was on my feet and Alvin placed one of his meaty fingers under my chin, forcing my head up.

"You're going to die, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third." Alvin said. "I'm going to make sure of it. I was debating if I should have left you to be torn apart by that Night Fury that captured you, but I'm going to have your head off your body with my sword. Then, I'll kill that annoying Bog who thought it was smart to sneak onto my ship. Finally, I'll kill that Night Fury and be recognized as one of the only warriors in the Archipelago to slay that dreaded dragon."

My eyes widened at Toothless' possible death. I attempted to shake off Alvin's men, but they held me even tighter. Alvin laughed at my struggle and kneed me in the stomach, causing me to keel over.

I was breathing heavily as Alvin's men lifted me up again. "You won't be able to kill any of us."

Alvin stopped his grinning. "What makes you think that?"

I put my fiercest glare onto my face, directed towards Alvin. "You must be a bigger idiot than I thought." Alvin's face turned red and I continued to talk despite the horrible situation I was in. "Killing two heirs of important tribes is a recipe for war. I may not be in Stoick's favor, but killing Camicazi will result in Bertha's rage. You and I both know her warriors would decimate your own."

Alvin clenched his sword, ready to strike me down, but he stopped. His dead eyes stared me down, the look of pure rage still stewing within him, but a still demeanor.

"Take him away!" Alvin ordered. I was dragged away, sans hood. The door to the prisons opened and I was thrown back into my shared cell with Camicazi.

The door to the prisons closed and Camicazi immediately crouched down to my level, her blue eyes wandering over my bruised body. She slowly placed one of her hands onto my chest, but even that light contact brought such an amount of pain I wasn't used to in quite some time.

 _Snotlout's punches were like child's play compared to Alvin's physical punishment._

"What in Freya's name did you say to piss off Alvin?" Camicazi asked. "You look even worse than before!"

I let out a shaky breath. "Let's just say we had a disagreement that ended violently."

"I'll say." Camicazi helped me relax on the floor, her worry evident clearly on her face. After she helped me relax, a careful silence filled the air. Camicazi looked outside of the small port hole that was in the wall of the ship while I just stared at her, trying to think on what to say to her.

"Staring at me isn't going to work, Hiccup." Camicazi said. She turned away from the view and back to me. A smirk clearly on her face.

A blush instantly covered my freckled face. "What am I trying to do?"

"We both know the answer to the question." Camicazi said. "Are you gonna stare at me all night or talk to me?"

I started to chuckle, but the pain started to shoot through my body. "What are you doing here Camicazi?"

"Some of the Bogs and I were mapping out some of our trade routes and I may have ventured off course."

I frowned at her words. "Your mom let you have a boat to yourself. . . " I said. "I find that pretty hard to believe."

"I may have gotten caught by Alvin's net. . . after I jumped into the water to try and get some shells for my necklace."

" _The_ Camicazi got caught by a net?" I laughed. "Now that makes for a story."

"A story that will _never_ leave your mouth. . . _ever_." Her mood suddenly shifted, the humor gone and left with a hard stare that pierced me. "Hiccup, how did you get captured on Alvin's ship?"

"I got captured by a net as well." I said, but at least it wasn't a total lie. Camicazi didn't buy it as a frown quickly found its way onto her face.

She tilted her head to the side. "I know you took a beating from Alvin, but your memory can't be that messed up."

"And it would be, because. . .?"

Camicazi looked at me if I was insane, her eyes wide and moving erratically. "A Night Fury had you in its claws when Alvin captured the both of you. That was the talk of the ship when you were put in this cell with me a few days ago."

I immediately sat up, ignoring the protests of my injured body. "WHAT!?"

Camicazi leaned back in surprise, her face now changed into pure shock, but there was a hint of suspicion in those eyes of hers. I should have been concerned about her suspicion towards my reaction, but Toothless' safety plagued my entire being. I didn't know if he was in one piece or not, but Alvin isn't that stupid to kill off the most feared dragon in the Archipelago without any witnesses.

 _How am I going to get out of here without her knowing? Where is Toothless right now?_

My eyes were shifting wildly as I thought up questions to escaping, but I didn't want to lose the chance of renewing my friendship with Camicazi. That itself was a rare opportunity, especially if you didn't have some type of relationship with her beforehand. Dread settled on me since Camicazi would probably be my enemy after knowing that I would choose Toothless if we all had the chance to escape from Alvin. She opened her mouth to say something, but it seemed that whatever she wanted to say, she hesitated and instead gave me a smile.

Camicazi placed her hand on my fur vest, her fingers tracing the symbol of the Hairy Hooligans that was embroidered into the fabric. I blushed at her action and looked up to see the expression that was on her face.

"Do you remember the Thing all those years ago?" Camicazi asked.

I nodded. "Of course." A smile came onto my blushed face. "It was the only time things were actually good."

* * *

 _The Thing on Berk was about to end after one week of business. Many Chiefs and Chieftess' came all the way down to Berk to renew treaties, talk trade, negotiate, and discuss different ways to kill dragons. There were competitions in weapons and strength, the best foods were put out to keep everyone well fed and full, and the strongest ale was constantly being poured for all the adults. While the local Chiefs and Chieftess' spoke, their heirs took part in doing whatever they could to bring honor to their tribe._

 _I had lost in almost every event that I was forced to participate in. I was lucky enough to get a few claps of applause when it came to knowing the locations of the tribes and history of Berk. Then again, the applause was forced since the villagers valued little of my knowledge and continued to pray that I would wake up and become a real Viking like my father. Luckily for all of us, the Thing was on its last leg and ready to end._

 _There was a large party on the last day to celebrate the good fortune that came to Berk from successful negotiations. I remembered the drunk Chiefs who attempted to dance, only to land fall flat on their face. I remembered the sweet desserts that I stuffed down my throat, but only to get a stomachache later. The best part of the Thing was the time played with Camicazi, sole daughter and heiress to Bertha, Chieftess of the Bog-Burglars. We pranked Snotlout in revenge for the mistreatment against me and Camicazi even beat Astrid in a swordfight._

 _The village slowed down and started to calm down after some Chiefs and Chieftess' returned back to their tribes with their children and local people. Stoick had called me over to the docks to send off the last Chieftess and her party. Stoick didn't care much for Chieftess Bertha and her tribe since they beat us at almost all the events Berk held for the Thing. When Bertha and Stoick spoke, Camicazi provided me with a wicked smile. I liked her; she wasn't like some of the other heirs who ignored me since they thought I was small or pretended to care for the sake of a treaty. She was crazy and we did the most exciting things that kept me entertained throughout the whole week._

" _Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third," she started. "we pranked your annoying cousin and snuck off for some awesome adventures."_

" _I'm still surprised we're alive, really." I said._

 _Camicazi laughed hard and I joined her. Some of her guards turned around and looked at us as we earned a look of amusement from Bertha, but a frown from Stoick._

 _"Now don't let Snotlout and the others walk all over you." Camicazi said. The wind blew, her hair messed up even more than before. "No matter what those muttonheads say, you are_ _ **not**_ _useless. Don't ever think that way. Promise me Hiccup."_

 _"I promise!" I gave her a smile and she quickly punched me as a final goodbye. Bertha collected Camicazi and they walked towards their ship as some of our guards released the ropes that held it at the docks. Bertha, Camicazi, and their entourage waved goodbye as their ship was steered in the direction of home. I stayed at the docks for most of the day and saw how the sun eventually set as the Thing ended, forced to turn back to a lonely life with little excitement. I didn't have to look up to know that Stoick didn't bother to stay by my side. The only thing I knew, was that Camicazi was gone._

* * *

"Alvin's going to kill us, Camicazi." I immediately said, the wistful mood that surrounded us was broken now with my relevation.

Camicazi sighed, her fingers moving from my clothed chest to my forehead. "I know."

My eyes widened. "Why are you so calm about this?"

"I trust you." Camicazi said, her eyes shining fiercely with conviction. "Do you trust me?"

I didn't say anything at all, but Camicazi let me think without saying anything else to influence my thoughts. I didn't need to think any longer though, I already knew my answer.

"Yeah, I do." I told her. Camicazi looked somewhat relieved and I smiled lightly. "So, when are we gonna escape?"

She smirked. "When are we scheduled to die?" I frowned at her words, but she just shrugged it off.

"Tomorrow night it is."

* * *

 _Ten Minutes before the Escape_

My heart was beating so fast, I was surprised Camicazi didn't hear it herself. We were going to escape, but I honestly had no idea how I could tell her about Toothless since the three of us needed to leave together.

 _Her reaction would probably end up with me full of arrows and Toothless probably ripping her head off in response._

"Hiccup." I turned to her when she called my name. "You're hesitating, why?"

"Toothless." I told her. "He's my – "

"What in Thor's name is a Toothless?" Camicazi interrupted. The door to the prisons opened and we heard footsteps coming our way. "We can talk about that later! We're getting out of here right now!"

"Now!?"

There was a guard at our cell door pulling out keys, but before he could unlock the door, Camicazi acted fast. She pulled the guard's arm and slammed him against the metal bars, instantly knocking him out. She took the keys and opened our cell door and pushed the guard inside as she took his weapons and locked him in. Camicazi helped me up and we started to run down the hall before more footsteps were headed our way. She pulled me into an empty cell and we hid in the shadows.

There were two guards that ran down the steps who must have heard the noise we created. Unfortunately, they were also blocking our only way out of here. Camicazi quickly popped out of the shadows and pulled out one of the daggers she stole earlier. Before the guards had the chance to react, Camicazi threw one of the daggers in her hand at one of the guard's heads. It buried into his eye where blood started to pour immediately. The guard screamed, but before he could react, Camicazi threw a punch that instantly knocked him out.

The other guard snapped out of his shock and instantly attacked Camicazi. She was surprised that this guard was smarter than the one she took down, but she wasn't going down without a fight. The guard and Camicazi threw punches at one another instantly. Camicazi went for his face, trying hard not to touch the armor that covered his body while he was trying to harm every inch of her. He got frustrated with his inability to attack, so the guard reached for the battle axe that was strapped to his back. A smirk crossed Camicazi's face as she saw how the guard let himself open. She kicked him in the crotch so hard, I could have sworn I heard a bone cracking. Camicazi took his battle axe and slammed it down on his head, a sickening crack came quickly after.

"Come on!" she yelled at me. We ran up the stairs and made it out of the prison section of the ship. We were now at the bunkers where some of the guards stayed. She motioned for me to stay as quiet and still as possible. She moved in the rooms and started to tie up some of the guards that were still asleep and quickly gagged them. The guards didn't even see it coming. She moved in and out of the rooms blending with the shadows, disappearing as quickly as she came. We ran up to the deck and were met by Alvin and some of his guards. There weren't that many since Camicazi took most of them out, which earned a look of rage from Alvin.

"You'll be dead before you know it." He sneered, his voice dripping with such hate only held for Camicazi and I. "Kill them first and then the dragon."

I looked around the deck for Toothless and I met his large green eyes. He didn't look too bad, just a few scratches on his body, and no other damage. Chains covered his body and stocks were used to hold the entire contraption in place. My heart almost broke at the sight of him looking so vulnerable, but I knew Toothless and I would make it out okay. He started to shake and try to move when he saw me, but some of the guards on Alvin's side moved to subdue him, though they failed. Toothless had gotten his tail free and used it to smack them away as they instantly fell overboard.

The guards remaining by Alvin immediately rushed towards us, but Camicazi acted fast. With the axe that she stole earlier, she aimed at the guard's hands which caused them to drop their swords in pain. Luckily for them, their hands were still attached to their body. She picked up a sword and used the handle to knock them out. She turned to Alvin with a cocky smirk while his entire body shook with rage as his men were put in their place by a fifteen-year-old girl. While Camicazi was fighting Alvin, I ran towards Toothless.

I grabbed a fallen sword nearby and swung it against the wooden stock that held part of Toothless' body captive. Toothless growled at the sight of Alvin, cooed at the bruises that covered my body, but stared down Camicazi, trying to decide if she was a friend or foe. It took me a while to get the wooden stocks off him, but I managed to do it. As I started to pull off the chains that still clung to Toothless, I turned to see how Camicazi was doing.

"I should've killed you the minute I captured you!" Alvin yelled. Camicazi's eyes instantly flashed with rage. She and Alvin circled each other, waiting to see how the other would attack. Alvin moved first and raised his sword to try and cut her down, but failed. She instantly met it and was pushed back. Alvin grinned in satisfaction at Camicazi's supposed struggle against him, but I knew better. Camicazi was not struggling, she was just waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

He moved his sword again to try and cut her down, but she met each swing with ease. Alvin thrusted his sword at her but Camicazi moved just in time. She took her sword and started to swing with all her might. I knew the Bog-Burglars were some of the best swordfighters in the Archipelago, but holy Thor. . . Camicazi was a force to be reckoned with. She started to attack Alvin with all her might, not even slowing down for a second. Alvin was forced to go on the defensive, constantly stepping back as Camicazi put all her power into her swings and thrusts of her sword. Camicazi raised her sword and sliced Alvin's cheek. Blood immediately flowed from his face as a vicious howl erupted from Alvin's throat. Camicazi finally took the pummel of her sword and slammed into Alvin's skull, a resounding thump was heard when his body met the floor of the deck, unmoving.

Camicazi turned in my direction, but the sword that she still held in her hands caused Toothless to growl. Camicazi tensed at Toothless's growl, but tightened her grip on the sword.

"Hiccup!" she said. "Move before that thing kills you! I can't get rid of it!"

"Wait!" I said.

Toothless roared loudly, causing Camicazi to shrink back in fear, but she still held her ground. Camicazi pointed the sword at Toothless, but that was a bad decision on her part. Toothless's pupils turned to slits and he suddenly charged at Camicazi. Camicazi's eyes widened considerably as Toothless pounced on her, ready to blow a plasma blast and burn her face off.

"TOOTHLESS, STOP!" I yelled out to him.

He immediately looked to me and when he saw the fear I had in my eyes, he stopped and bowed his head in apology. He moved off Camicazi and I immediately helped her up. She was still shocked from Toothless pouncing on her, the sword that was in her hands, forgotten on the deck of the ship. Camicazi was shaking, her blue eyes darting back and forth at Toothless and I's figures.

"Toothless?" she whispered out.

"Camicazi, meet Toothless." I sheepishly told her. "My best friend and dragon."

Toothless snorted and glared at her, his trust lacking.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, what in Freya's name is going on?"


	4. Truths and Flights

A/N: HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY YOU GUYS! ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAY WITH A CHAPTER FROM ME!

Hiccup's POV

 _Oh no._ I gulped and stared at Camicazi. She was still frozen and her mouth was slowly opening and closing as she took in the fact that Toothless was a dragon, not just any dragon, but a Night Fury. Toothless wasn't as hostile before since Cami dropped her weapons, in fact he was laughing in his own dragon way. It must've been pretty funny to him to see a girl who took down a strong man like Alvin had suddenly turned weak in his presence alone. Cami must have noticed that Toothless was laughing at her since her gaping expression turned into one of fury.

"Is that dragon laughing at me?" she demanded.

I quickly thought of what to do. Knowing Cami, she would snap if I told her yes, but she would probably kill me if I lied to her.

"Yeah, he is." I told her. We didn't have the time to discuss Toothless mocking her, we needed to get as far as way as possible. "Listen Cami, I can explain everything, but we need to get out of here, Alvin and the guards could wake up at any moment." And that they were. Alvin was starting to make twitching movements and the other guards were slowly trying to get themselves up. I hopped onto Toothless and held my arm out for her to join me on his back.

"No way!" she yelled out. "I am not riding that thing!"

"Then how are you going to get out of here!?"

"I'll take a longship." She answered. The only one there was ruined in the fight. One of the guards was pushed so hard by Toothless that he _flew_ through the boat and _fell_ into the sea. "No way am I riding a dragon, you can't make me!" I think she knew she was losing the argument, Alvin was starting to wake up, the only other ship was destroyed, and she would be stranded if she stalled any longer. " _Fine_!" She carefully got onto Toothless and we immediately launched into the sky. Camicazi clutched onto me for her dear life and I was pretty sure I was starting to lose breath.

"Can't. . . breathe" I struggled to get out. She widened her eyes and immediately let go of me, but that didn't stop her from having an iron grip on my shoulders. I turned around and saw that her eyes were now closed tightly and her entire body was shaking. It was strange to see how the crazy Camicazi who pulled pranks on so many people could be scared. She jumped off cliffs for fun and took on Alvin the Treacherous to save our lives, yet a dragon took all that fight away from her.

We were flying as fast as possible, and in a few hours we made it to the cave Toothless and I were in before. Night had already came and as I came off of Toothless, I held a hand out for Camicazi to help her off, but Toothless just knocked her off and she landed on top of me. We both blushed and I glared at Toothless who just waddled off and lit a plasma blast on the old pile of wood to create a fire. He curled up in a corner of the cave and watched Camicazi intently. She pushed herself off of me and moved into the cave, but sat as far away as Toothless as possible.

I came inside and saw Camicazi shifting her eyes all over the place, but they were mainly darting between Toothless and I, trying to figure out how we came to be. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair in exasperation. I was too tired to explain anything to her and we all needed rest after being captured by Alvin. I turned and looked at her and her steel blue eyes met my green ones, and the look in her eyes reminded me of the one I had back at Berk: anger.

"I promise to tell you everything, but tomorrow." I said.

She didn't say anything to me at all, she just turned around and closed her eyes and fell asleep. I felt a pang of anger across my chest. _Was she going to write me off as insignificant as well? Was she going to judge me just like Berk did?_ I shook my head, trying to get rid of the dark thoughts that were plaguing my mind. I took my old blanket and draped it over her as she slept and I moved into Toothless' wings before the darkness covered me and lulled me into sleep.

Camicazi's POV

 _My gods, a dragon!?_ Not just any dragon, but a Night Fury! My heart was beating like crazy when I was with Hiccup riding it. I know I do crazy things, but this is just insane! How in Thor's name did Hiccup train a Night Fury?! I've jumped off cliffs, stole Stoick the Vast's underwear, fought Alvin the Treacherous, but riding a dragon trumped all of that! Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third trained a Night Fury, one of the most deadly and feared dragons throughout the archipelago, but the way it acted when I was on the ship, was like an overgrown puppy! When we got to the cave, I didn't want to be near that thing! I pretended I was sleeping but I could feel Hiccup's eyes staring at the back of me before he put a blanket over me to help me sleep. I turned around and saw that the Night Fury wrapped him around his wings like he was protecting him. It turned to me and growled slightly before sleeping itself.

"It better be the best damn explanation of his life" I muttered before falling asleep myself.

 _The next morning_

I woke up and saw that I was alone in the cave. There were some pieces of bread with smoked fish for me to eat for breakfast. I grabbed some of the food and chewed mindlessly as I walked around the cave to see how Hiccup has been living. The walls were covered with paper that had some designs about a tail fin, there was a basket of food, which was running low in my opinion, and some pieces of metal scattered around the cave. There was a small plush toy of a dragon and a book. I smirked when I saw the toy but the book interested me more. It was wedged in between a crack and I pulled it out to see what Hiccup was hiding. The first thing I saw was a drawing of the Night Fury and it was so well done, it caused my eyes to widen. There was so much detail and it was like it was jumping off the page. The journal had plenty of pictures of the dragon and some notes on the tail fin, but then I stumbled upon some folded pages. I opened them up and my heart dropped.

 _-My name is Hiccup, and I am useless. Everything is changing. Cami's gone so she can't protect me. Snotlout and the twins have been pranking me more than usual and they're starting to be more mean. Last week Snotlout shoved me into a puddle of mud and the twins threw chicken feed on me and I was being chased by animals. Some of the villagers saw but did nothing, I told my dad, but he said a real Viking never cries, he stands his ground and fights. I don't know what to do anymore. Fishlegs used to be my friend but every time he sees me, he avoids me. And Astrid! I like her, I really do but I can never be a real Viking like my dad, Gobber, Snotlout, uncle, or anyone else. She would never like me at all._

 _-Today's the day my mom was taken. My dad whistles a song and he says it reminds him of her. I turned thirteen a few months ago, and I heard one of the villagers say that it was a good thing she was taken so she wouldn't have to see the embarrassment of a son I turned out to be._

 _-I can do it. I can take the dagger and slit my wrists. Sure it'll be messy but it's not like anyone would miss me. I'm a nuisance. My dad only yells or ignores me, Gobber tries, but he's not my dad, he shouldn't have to be my parent. My uncle looks at me as if I should never have been born, the whole village despises me. I make too many messes and let the dragons take everything. I'm about to raise the knife and –_

I closed the book right then and there. I couldn't read on anymore and I was shaking. _How awful did they treat him?_ I put everything back the way it was and threw the bones of the fish out of the cave. I was pacing back and forth angrily before I heard Hiccup come in.

"You're awake!" he said to me. "I thought you would've. . . Cami?" He must've noticed my angry pacing because he stopped talking. I couldn't handle it anymore and all I saw was red. I pounced on him and he screamed, before i could do anything else, I was sent flying against the cave and a black figure was on top of me. I wasn't afraid this time, I should've known that this damn dragon would've came onto me if Hiccup was in trouble at all. It roared at me and I was pretty sure my hearing was going to be like crap for a while. His giant paw was on my chest and I was struggling to breathe.

Hiccup must've said something to him since he got the dragon to get off of me. I stood up and I was still shaking with anger as I turned to Hiccup. He looked shocked as well, but pretty pissed.

" _What the hell is wrong with you?!"_ he yelled at me.

"Me?" I said incredulously. "How come you never told me how awful those damned Hairy Hooligans treated you!?"

" _How do you know how bad it got?!"_ he said suspiciously

I walked back to his hiding spot and grabbed the journal and showed it to him. He immediately snatched it out of my hands and looked back to me.

"How much did you read?"

"Up to the. . . wrists section." I struggled to get out.

"That wasn't for you to read!" He roared.

"Were you ever going to tell me?"

"What's the point?" he looked betrayed. "It's not like you could've done anything!"

"I could've!" I cried out. "I could've protected you!"

" _How?"_ he said venomously _. "Were you gonna swim across the sea to stop Snotlout from beating me up? The twins from their sick and cruel pranks? My dad's awful parenting? The villagers scorn? Tell me!"_

"I don't know!" I felt tears stinging at my eyes at my failure to protect my best friend.

"You don't know what it's like to be looked down every single day of your life!" he yelled at me once more. He slumped down to the ground and his dragon immediately curled up to him in comfort. Hiccup was starting to cry silently and it made me feel awful for bringing this dark part out of him by force. I kneeled down onto the cave floor silently and moved slowly since the dragon was growling lowly, warning me not to do anything funny. I placed my hands on Hiccup's face and raised his head to meet my own. His green eyes showed pain and his face was still wet with tears. I placed my head against his and I could feel his breath tickling my cheeks. I don't know what came over me, but I held him close and I didn't let him go.

Hiccup's POV

I don't know how long we stayed like that, with Camicazi holding me and me resting against her chest. I was crying and now I was blushing. I was laying against her chest for some time before I started to move around which made it more awkward. She let go of me and her face was as red as the dress she was wearing and I matched her as well. She didn't look at me, but at Toothless who was still by our sides watching her curiously.

"So, Toothless?" she asked trying to clear the awkwardness. "You couldn't have named him Dark Wing or something like that? Why Toothless?"

"Toothless." I told him. "Show her."

Toothless chirped happily and raised his head for Camicazi. He opened his mouth to show his gums.

"I swore he had. . ." she started but Toothless showed his teeth and she looked surprised. ". . . teeth, I'll take that for now until I think of a better name." I laughed at that and she joined me. I knew I had to clear the air with her since i couldn't leave without giving her a full explanation.

"Can I touch him?" she asked. My eyes lit up in excitement and I held her hand out for Toothless to decide if he accepted her or not. His eyes shifted curiously at Camicazi before he put his head into her palm. "Wow! For someone so deadly, you're just a big cat, aren't you?" she teased. Toothless rubbed onto her for more attention and she granted him his wish as she scratched him before he rolled onto his back and begged for a belly rub. I laughed at that and gave him one. I sighed out and turned to Camicazi who was looking at me curiously.

"What is it?" I asked her.

"I'm the best swordfighter in the archipelago, the heir to the Bog-Burglar tribe, and feared for my combat skills. I'm supposed to hate dragons and kill on sight when I see them, but I'm _petting a Night Fury_ right now. How did you tame him?"

"I never tamed him. I earned his trust and respect. We have an unbreakable bond." I told her. "When you get a dragon, you get a partner for life."

"How did you get him?"

"I shot him down in a raid." I started to feel awful as I remembered what I did. "I wanted respect and love from the village and my dad that I harmed Toothless to try and gain it. When I found him, I held my dagger up ready to kill him, and I just couldn't."

"Why not?"

"I wouldn't kill him because he looked as frightened as I was." I admitted. "I looked at him and I saw myself. So I started to help him, I made him a new tail fin, then a saddle for myself since he couldn't fly on his own. When we went on our first flight and we've been by each other's side since then. I ran away after I almost hurt Astrid in the Kill Ring. We were doing dragon training and things got out of hand and I snapped. She started to yell at me and I couldn't take it anymore. I yelled at everyone and even punched Snotlout. "

"Astrid?" she questioned. "You mean that _annoying_ blonde with the axe who got mad that I beat her in the sparring competition back at the Thing?" I nodded in response. Camicazi threw her head back and laughed. "And you punched Snotlout?" I nodded again. She laughed even harder. She was starting to cry and even Toothless started to laugh in his own dragon way. "Please tell me you spilt some blood? That douche of a cousin you have deserved it."

"His nose was bleeding and his lip was split." I told her. She bent her head toward the ground and was silently laughing. She was struggling to breathe and when she picked her head back up, her cheeks were red, her braid came loose and her hair tumbled all over her body. Her smile lit up the room and I don't think she realized how pretty she was. She was like a light and I was attracted to it.

"How bad did they treat you?" she asked hesitantly.

"It was hell." I told her bluntly. "Everything changed when the Thing ended. Snotlout started to beat me up, the twins were always plotting sick pranks, Astrid always sneered in my direction or ignored me, and Fishlegs did nothing. My dad was a crappy parent who didn't even try to care. When Snoggletog came, I realized then that I was useless."

"Hiccup…" she said with a tone of warning.

"I know, I know." I said. "I wasn't going to be as strong as Snotlout or a great fighter like Astrid; I wasn't going to be like any of the Vikings in the village, and I was reminded about that _every day_!"

"So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know." I confessed. "I just left without a plan and I trained Toothless –" I stood up immediately. _I trained Toothless!_ "I can train dragons! Think about it, I'm the only one who trained and ridden a dragon in the whole archipelago and maybe we can train dragons and show the world that dragons aren't our enemy!"

"Whoa!" Camicazi held her hands up to me. " _We?_ Don't you think you're aiming too high with the whole world?"

"Think about it Cami!" I told her. "Think of all the adventures we can have together, finding you a dragon and training it, finding tons of new species and probably new islands!" I was hoping she would say yes, she was always finding new things to do and get herself in trouble with. She gave me a smile in response and stood up as well.

"Well, if we're gonna train dragons, we got to start back home." She said

"I'm not going back home!" I told her. She rolled her eyes at me and smirked.

"Not Berk muttonhead, back to my home." She said. "Come with me, come back to my home. If you're going to start somewhere, it better be with us Bogs first. I need to go home and you need a place to get started. If you got my attention, I'm pretty sure you can convince my mom. And I'm pretty sure she sent the whole armada of ships looking for me, usually when I disappear, it's about a few days, not almost 2 weeks."

"Yes!" I turned to Toothless who was looking at me in curiosity. "Did you hear that bud, we're going to start training dragons! We can change the world for the better now!" Toothless understood and warbled happily as he agreed to the idea. He pushed me onto the saddle and jumped around. Camicazi was laughing at Toothless before he tossed her up on the saddle as well.

"Before we go anywhere, you guys have to give me a ride." She demanded. "Not some soft one, I want it fast with all the works and such." I laughed before I blushed to how her words sounded to me. "Get your head out of the gutter Haddock!" she yelled as she blushed as well to the words that came out of her mouth. She straightened herself on the saddle and we shot out of the cave as fast as possible. Toothless spun and dove around like crazy and Camicazi was enjoying the excitement since she never stopped screaming or laughing. There were some rocks approaching and I motioned to Toothless to try out the trick we've been working on.

"Ready for something even more crazy?" I asked her. She nodded and I grabbed her hand and raised myself slightly off the saddle. She did the same. Toothless was to go under the rock and we were to jump over and he was going to catch us.

"One!" I said. The rock was coming up now.

"Two!" she said. Toothless was about to dip under.

"Three!" we said in unison. We jumped. Our hands were attached and we never let go. We landed onto Toothless at once and made our way back to the cave. I didn't notice that we were still holding hands until I let go and Camicazi showed a small hint of disappointment. I started to pack my stuff away and onto Toothless and held a hand for Camicazi as she took it and got onto Toothless once more.

"Well, what are you waiting for!?" she said. "It's time to go home Hic!"

"Come on bud, off to the Bog-Burglar Tribe!" I laughed.

Nobody's POV

Hiccup, Camicazi, and Toothless were gone. What none of them remembered was Hiccup's book still lying on the floor of the cave that was there for anyone to see.

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A/N: Hey everyone, i hope you enjoyed this chapter today and your Fourth of July Weekend! Here you got Hiccup and Camicazi leaving the ship and returning to the cave with Hiccup explaining some dark bits about him living on Berk and the treatment he got his whole life. You also get Camicazi's POV! Originally, you were suppose to have a section of Stoick's POV to read on dragon training and Gobber, but i decided to merge it with the next chapter i'm doing right now. So you will get plenty of Berk next chapter and some Stoick bashing - sorry Stoick fans - along with some hints of future events. I've been asked to include things from DoB, RoB, and Race to the Edge and you'll get that when Hiccup and Camicazi travel to the Bog-Burglar Tribe and other places as well. I'll probably choose two or three episodes from DoB and RoB and put the events in their with this story. With Race to the Edge, you won't see much of that until later. I'm going to include Heather, the Berserkers and Dagur, the Meathead Tribe and some other places and people as well. I've been asked about the timeline if i'm going to do the 5 year jump, and that is yes/no. I'm planning to build Hiccup's character up and then do a time jump but not entirely a full 5 years. Right now, I'm planning for Hiccup to stay with Cami for a year, probably a year and a half tops. Then Hiccup goes to another tribe, stays there for some time and then some months or years pass and it goes on and on and on. Hiccup's weapons will be done in the Bog Burglar Tribe, his sword and shield will be present. His flight suit is not coming up anytime soon, probably later (sorry Gordon519). There is no Hiccstrid, you'll get Hiccami and then offically HiccupxOC. Berk will get its just desserts soon, don't worry. I'm going to post the possible timeline for the story for the next 5 or 6 chapters so you can see what may or may not happen. Once again, review and follow to get info on updates and watch for more things to come!

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Timeline:

 **Chapter 1 – Hiccup leaves Berk, but get's captured.**

 **Chapter 2 – Stoick returns to Berk and gets some surprising news. Hiccup reunites with an old friend. An old enemy returns. An escape is in progress.**

 **Chapter 3 – Hiccup reunites with Camicazi and escapes.**

 **Chapter 4- Hiccup tells Camicazi the truth. Hiccup and Camicazi reconnect. Dragon Training continues at Berk.**

Chapter 5 – Dragon training continues on Berk. Trouble on Berk. Stoick has regrets.

Chapter 6 – The Bog-Burglar Tribe.

Chapter 7 – Negotiations with Big Boobied Bertha.

Chapter 8 – Weapon training begins. Hiccup and Camicazi get closer. New friends.

Chapter 9 – 1 year passes and a tribe asks for help.

Chapter 10 – Hiccup continues his adventures. New discoveries. Hiccup finds a new tribe.


	5. Regrets and Consequences

Berk

Stoick's POV

It was great not to have any more accidents around Berk. I didn't have to clean up as many messes as I would before and I had less of a headache when I returned home. But for some reason, I felt like something bad was going to happen today. There was something in the air that had me on edge; I just didn't know what it is. I started to walk down to the arena for dragon training to observe the recruits. After Gobber's outburst, I thought he would stop training the teenagers in the arena, but surprisingly, he didn't. I didn't know if he actually wanted to do so, or if he was still avoiding me. I had to go to the forge soon due to the immense work that came up after Hiccup disappeared. People were complaining about not getting their tools or weapons and it was giving me a headache. Even though the boy was gone, he still caused some problems. I walked up to the arena and stood next to Gothi as she was observing the teenagers as well. She gave me a nod of greeting and I returned it as well with respect.

Gobber was down in the arena with the students with his hand on a lever that opens the Hideous Zipplebacks' cage. He had given the recruits buckets of water before hand to defend themselves against the Zippleback and called for their attention.

"Today is about teamwork. Work together and you might survive." He said. He pulled the lever and quickly moved away to the side towards the weapons rack, observing the recruits. I shook my head at Gobber's "learning on the job" teaching method. The doors opened to the Zippleback cage and the green gas engulfed the ring, swirling around the paired up teens. Astrid with Ruffnut. Snotlout with Tufnut and Fishlegs joined the boys.

"Now a wet dragon head can't light its fire. The Hideous Zippleback is extra tricky. One head breathes gas, the other head lights it. Your job is to know which is which." I observed the teens even though the gas engulfed them from their silhouettes as the dragon moved sneakily through the arena.

"Razor sharp, serrated teeth that inject venom for pre-digestion. Prefers ambush attack, crushing its victims in it's..." Fishlegs started.

"Will you shut up?" Snotlout snapped. He turned his head to glare at Fishlegs, while keeping an eye on the dragon that could pop up at any time. "If that dragon shows either of his faces, I'm gonna-…" He spotted a figure in the green fog that was coming towards them." –There!" Snotlout and Tuffnut hurled their water at the figure, not knowing it was Astrid and Ruffnut. I shook my head at this and was silently praying that Snotlout wasn't going to doom the village when he turned of age to accept the chieftain throne.

"Hey!" Astrid spoke.

"It's us, idiots." Ruffnut snapped.

"Your butts are getting bigger. We thought you were a dragon." Tuffnut snickered.

"Not that there's anything wrong with a dragon-esque figure." Snotlout said to Astrid. Astrid immediately elbowed him in the face while Ruffnut dropped her brother with a punch to the throat. I shook my head at the idiocy that was being displayed in the arena while Gothi patted me reassuringly with a hand. Astrid must have heard something since she stopped Ruffnut from throwing their water into the arena. The tail of the Zippleback swiped the girls and caused their buckets to spill, leaving them defenseless. A head swirled out of hiding and Fishlegs threw his bucket of water on the head, but it was the head that created the gas, not the spark.

"Oh. Wrong head." He said. The Zippleback sprayed gas at Fishlegs and he ran away immediately. I was looking worriedly at the recruits as they were utterly defenseless against this deadly dragon. The Zippleback started to spray the whole arena and it looked like the other head was about to light up the whole place. Gobber realized it as well and ordered the recruits out of the arena and I ran down to lift the gate. The teenagers ran out and Gobber and I grabbed swords to protect the recruits from getting hurt. Despite Gobber and me fighting over the way I handled Hiccup's disappearance, we both knew that the village could not afford to lose any more people as winter was coming and the dragons would attack even more, leaving us utterly defenseless.

The Zippleback was about to light the place until Gobber started to distract one head while the other head was trying to zap me with its spark. Gobber and I quickly ran in opposite directions, which caused the heads to be tangled together before I jumped and bashed my sword against the heads causing them to be knocked out almost immediately. The gas was clearing and the recruits came back into the arena slowly as Gobber and I panted from fighting the dragon. We dragged the Zippleback back into its cage and locked the doors immediately.

I turned back to the recruits who were in awe of the battle they just witnessed. Gobber and I looked at each other, and nodded for the work we've done.

"Is this a joke to some of you?" I started. I looked each recruit in the eye, daring them to interrupt me. The twins were trying to look everywhere but me, Fishlegs was shaking, Snotlout was staring at me, but he would drop his eyes every few seconds, and Astrid was staring me in the eye, absorbing everything I was going to say. "Fighting in the arena when you're supposed to be listening to Gobber? When you participate in a raid, the only thing a dragon is going to do is kill you. There is no time for playing around when the people you love are dying. I'm not asking you to give up your adolescent years, but to realize the time for playing is going to be gone sooner than you think. In a few short years you'll be adults fighting against Outcasts and killing dragons, the time for playing is going to end and embracing your duties as a Viking will trump everything."

The teens were silent after that. Not even the twins joked around or said anything at all. I dismissed all of them as Gobber and I looked at each other. It's been tense between us for a while, Gobber would avoid me or give me quick, and cold responses if I talked to him at all. He moved from me and started to pick up the wooden buckets that the teens dropped. I picked up one and handed it to him as he put the buckets away back in the storage.

"Gobber" I started. "I know you're mad at me. . ."

"I'm not mad at you." He said. "I'm mad at the way you handled Hiccup's disappearance. I tell you the boy's been missing for at least a week, and you throw a party. Are you _mad!?_ What would have happen if Hiccup had come in the Great Hall and found that the villagers were toasting to him being gone? What would have happen if Hiccup's body came floating through the water, would you still be cheering then!?"

I shook my head at Gobber. "I don't want to hear this!" I turned my back on him and started to walk away.

"See!?" he said. "My point exactly. Hiccup would tell me how you and the village would ignore him or spite him whenever he would try to help."

"Every time he steps outside, disaster happens!" I argued. "Hiccup would run on and on about crazy ideas on trying to kill dragons."

"You're right that Hiccup causes more messes than solutions, but you could've tried to love him!"

"I do love the boy!"

"Then why did he leave!? Why did he disappear without a trace and leave no note or anything!?" Gobber yelled out. His face was red and his eyes were wild. "Ever since Valka got taken—"

"Don't you dare bring up Valka!" I roared.

"You use her as an excuse for everything." He started. "You can't look at the boy because he's so much like her. Ever since she was taken, you passed Hiccup off to every single woman in the village while you worked yourself to the bone. I'm angry that you chose to throw a party and dance around like there's not a care in the damn world while your son is somewhere off Gods know where! Did that even go through your thick skull when you were clinking glasses with your brother?" Gobber demanded.

"Am I that horrible of a father?" I whispered out.

"You're a horrible father Stoick" he said to me. "But a good horrible."

I raised my eyebrows in confusion at his words.

"You're probably the worst parent right now."

"I know."

"You're probably the worst parent on Berk."

"Gobber…"

"You're probably the worst parent in the whole archipelago."

"GOBBER!"

"But you know what your mistake was." Gobber smiled lightly. "You can't change the past of how you parented Hiccup, but if we see him again you need to admit you were wrong. He may not listen to what you have to say, but trying is what matters. Don't give up yet Stoick."

* * *

 _Some hours later_

I was in bed when I heard the first scream. I immediately woke up and then the screams multiplied before an ear shattering roar filled Berk. _Dragon raid!_ I hopped out of bed and grabbed my axe and ran outside. Large amounts of dragons were flying overhead and fire was raining down from the sky, destroying some homes and weapons. A group of warriors ran towards me with so many questions, that I could barely understand them.

"This horde is even bigger than the last!"

"What are your orders, Chief?"

"They already got the sheep!"

"They destroyed some homes already!"

"Enough!" I roared. "Raise the torches; we need to fight the damned beasts. If we can't see them, we're done for! Get the women and children into the Great Hall for safety immediately; I don't want to send anyone off to Valhalla early! Make sure the teenagers are on fire control!"

"Yes Chief!" they all chorused at once.

There were more dragons than before, and it sent a chill down my spine. _What in Thor's name is going on?_

I ran down some steps towards the harbor where some Nadders were about to take baskets of fish. I threw my axe at one and it immediately went down. I pulled my axe out and killed the next two that were about to set me ablaze. I was covered in Nadder blood and flesh before I ran back up to help defend the livestock. For some reason, I felt like this raid was going to change something.

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Astrid's POV

We were running as fast as possible. The gang and I set up the barrel of water and were throwing water onto homes as fast as possible. A Monstrous Nightmare set aflame at least five houses and some Gronckles were practically having a field day when they were stealing some fish from barrels that some warriors were doing a poor job at protecting. I shook my head in disgust at their crappy fighting style. When I get out there, I won't deal with such horrid fighting skills.

Fishlegs just threw his bucket onto a house that we put the flames out while Snotlout was running back for more water. The twins were admiring the destruction the dragons were creating, while dodging some debris that was coming down from houses.

"We have no more water!" Snotlout yelled out. I whipped my head back to see if he was joking, and there wasn't a hint of amusement on his face.

"There's a damn hole in the barrel!" I yelled back. How is it that nobody saw this hole? This would happen during one of the worst raids I've been in so far. "Head back to the well and get as much water as possible." I ordered. Even though I wasn't the official leader of the group, they all listened to me better than Snotlout's ideas. The last time we did that, Fishlegs almost ended up paralyzed. Snotlout seemed to know what I was thinking and gave me a quick glare, before running off with the others.

"What about you Astrid?" Ruffnut asked. She paused from her running as she turned back and looked at me. Ruffnut and I were the only girls in our little group, so we were naturally best friends, especially when it came to Snotlout's idiocy and his failed flirting.

"I'll be fine." I told her. "I'm going to try and fix this hole."

There was a flash of hesitation in her eyes but it quickly vanished as a wicked smirk came onto her face. She rushed off towards the direction of the well. I looked back towards the water barrel and checked out the hole. It wasn't small, but not too large to cause enough damage. I was rushing to find something to plug up the hole since the dragons were doing plenty of damage on the village. I finally found a cork and was about to plug the hole until I heard my name called.

"Astrid, watch out!" Ruffnut yelled.

I looked up and saw a Nadder who was staring me down. I grabbed my axe from the back of my straps and challenged it. It squawked at me before shooting a stream of fire at me. I immediately dodged out of the way, but the fire found its way to Ruffnut and I heard her scream, but I kept running in fear of the Nadder. It seemed to accept the challenge from me and it started to rain fire down at me. I dodged each stream of fire before I found myself in the center of the village. I could see Gobber fixing as many weapons as possible, Stoick was helping a family get out of their burning house by distracting a Monstrous Nightmare, and other warriors were either fighting dragons or hiding food.

I was breathing heavily, but was still on alert as I heard the Nadder come back to me again. It tried shooting me at least four times and failed at each try. I smirked mockingly at the dragon and it flew down at me with a vengeance. It squawked in frustration and raised its tail and shot sharp spines at me and I once again dodged them.

It flew down fast at me and was getting ready for a final shot. I smirked in anticipation and held on tight to my axe. I was running towards it and I saw its mouth heat up as it breathed out its final shot. I slid underneath the Nadder when it gave out its final flame and raised my axe to its soft underbelly. When my axe met its flesh, the blood immediately flowed and its guts came down as well. It crashed and laid still, dead in the dirt. It didn't figure out that I planned to play cat and mouse, not realizing it was the prey and I was the hunter. When I looked up, I saw most of the dragons were gone, holding our food and the others of their flock were on the ground, lying dead. The warriors were cheering and I joined in, despite the food loss. Stoick came towards the center and an angry look came onto his face.

"Cheering because some dragons got killed is not an achievement." He started. "Did every single beast fall? Did we save our whole food stock from their claws? Did we not lose any lives? Look around! Half the homes are burned down or barely standing, most of our food supplies have been taken, and winter is coming! We only have a few months before the ice sets to get as much food and supplies to survive this upcoming winter."

The seriousness of his words came into the skulls of everyone who could hear him. The small amount of dragons killed was nothing compared to what the beasts took from us.

"Chief!" a warrior said. "Hofferson here killed her first dragon. A Nadder!"

Stoick immediately looked at me and I smiled in pride. I started to feel woozy, but I ignored it as I saw the Chief coming to congratulate me on my first kill outside training. His steps slowed as he looked at me in confusion and then shock. I followed his sight and noticed my side that was covered in blood. And the Nadder's spike that was sticking out of my body before the darkness consumed me. But before I closed my eyes, Hiccup's words echoed into my head as I was dragged down into the night.

 _"You are so blind to your own ideas that it will get you killed one day!"_

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A/N: Hello hello! I'm sorry for posting this chapter after the weekend and so late at night, i had a paper to do for one of my summer classes and it took up a lot of time. I don't know why, but i didn't like the way i wrote the first half of the story before the raid, so i'll probably edit it and let you guys have a much more longer chapter with some more details. Here, you got to see Gobber and Stoick speak on Hiccup and his criticism of Hiccup leaving on Berk. Also, you got to see Astrid's POV and see how she feels about everyone else surrounding her. When i watch HTTYD, i didn't really pay attention to each character, and when i watched it again, i always wondered how someone like Astrid handled dire situations. If you notice during the first day of training, Astrid leaves everyone in the dust, not because she's a great warrior, but very selfish. I always shipped Hiccstrid, but when i look at the movie again or at each character separately, i find Astrid to be very selfish. In my eyes, i think she's a very deadly warrior, but she's someone who wouldn't mind to tear people down so she can rise to the top. I highlighted this thought of mine by Astrid's selfishness by leaving Ruffnut in a very dangerous position to kill her first dragon without any help at all, but with that selfish act, she gets into a very real and deadly situation. I hope you liked what i wrote for this chapter, but don't worry it'll get much longer very soon! Also, check out the poll on my profile to help progress the story even further. Once again, read, review, and let me know what you want to see in upcoming chapters! See you very soon!

Here is the timeline again, with a few edits:

 **Chapter 1 – Hiccup leaves Berk, but get's captured.**

 **Chapter 2 – Stoick returns to Berk and gets some surprising news. Hiccup reunites with an old friend. An old enemy returns. An escape is in progress.**

 **Chapter 3 – Hiccup reunites with Camicazi and escapes.**

 **Chapter 4- Hiccup tells Camicazi the truth. Hiccup and Camicazi reconnect. Dragon Training continues at Berk.**

 **Chapter 5 – Dragon training continues on Berk. Devastating raid. Stoick has regrets.**

Chapter 6 – The Bog-Burglar Tribe. A mysterious figure on Bog territory.

Chapter 7 – Negotiations with Big Boobied Bertha.

Chapter 8 – Weapon training begins. Hiccup and Camicazi get closer. New friends and romances.

Chapter 8.5 - Snoggletog.

Chapter 9 – 1 year passes and a tribe asks for help. Confessions.

Chapter 10 – Hiccup continues his adventures. New discoveries. Hiccup finds a new tribe.

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Response to Reviews:

The Era Thief: It's going to get even better with each chapter!

MMM: Hiccup and Camicazi are going to be together for some time, that's for sure. For her dragon, i'm still deciding! What type do _you_ think she should have?

Avery: Wow! I'll keep that in mind.

Transformers 0: 100% true!

Aipocanrocinu unicornacopiA: They;ll be traveling back to Cami's so you'll see an extreme culture shift from Berk to the Bogs

NoTearsFalling: Ok and i'm glad the chapter was to your liking!

dragonlovewater: Maybe. Maybe not.


	6. Astrid v Ruffnut

Astrid's POV

I woke up to a start. My head was throbbing and my side was aching like crazy. I slowly sat up and the pain intensified. I looked around to see where I was and I saw Gothi stirring some liquid in a bowl. She must have heard the bed squeak since she turned around and looked at me. Before I could ask her what was going on, she smacked her staff on my arm which caused me to stifle my words. I glared at her and she took the bowl from the corner and offered it to me. I immediately pushed it away, since the smell caused me to gag.

"You need to drink this, you lost a lot of blood Astrid." She said. "That Nadder spike did a number on you."

My eyes widened at her words and I tossed the blanket that was covering me and looked at the damage on my side. The bandage covered the wound, but from what I could tell, there was a nasty red mark surrounding the bandage and there was dried blood still covering my skin. I looked at Gothi and she shoved the bowl at me once again and I grimaced. I wrinkled my nose in disgust and quickly shoved the green liquid down my throat before I vomited it back up. I ran a hand through my hair, which was tangled and oily due to the sweat I was laying in in Gothi's out.

"How long have I been in here?" I asked her. I needed to be out there and back in training; there was no way I was going to lose my spot in training because of some Nadder spike.

"A few days." She said in a calm manner. My mouth dropped open and my face was turning red with anger. _A few days!?_ Before I could say anything, the door to Gothi's hut slammed open and I looked up to see my mom staring at me with a mix of emotions on her face before she finally settled on one: Anger.

"Astrid Freya Hofferson!" she started. "What in Thor's name provoked you to challenge a fully grown Nadder by yourself in one of the most deadly raids possible!? You're lucky Gobber ran out of his stall to come and get you and give you to Gothi immediately. You could've died! A Nadder's spike was lodged into your side and you were bleeding like crazy! How did you think I felt when I saw my daughter, _my only daughter_ , lying in a pool of her own blood in the dirt!? Did you take into consideration of what I was _feeling!?"_ Her voice broke at the end and it looked like she was going to cry. My mom, Brenna Hofferson was one of the fiercest warriors on the island. She rarely cried, and the only time she ever did was at my father's funeral so many years ago. I bowed my head down in regret as I took her words to heart after she spoke.

"I know you want to be recognized as a great shield maiden Astrid, but don't put your life in danger for some recognition from the village. If Stoick can't see how great of a warrior you are, then screw him. You're a Hofferson, we don't need anyone's approval, we fight and climb our way up to get what we want when we want no matter what. You did a good job killing the Nadder, but if you ever put yourself in that much danger again, you'll have to fear _me_. I didn't spend a day and a half screaming my head off to bring you into this cold world for you to get yourself killed recklessly." I nodded in agreement, since my mother's temper was something not to be trifled with.

"So can I get out of here, or do I have to stay in this bed for Gods know how long?" I asked. My mom looked at Gothi and she sighed in defeat. She knew I would fight tooth and nail to get out of this hut before I go mad.

"Let me clean the wound and redress it and you'll be good to go." She removed the bandage and the wound was healing quite fine. There was a small hole from where the spike was and there was a slight infection, but it was nothing that couldn't be fixed. My mom grimaced at the sight of the wound as Gothi was cleaning it. It stung from what liquid she just put on there and cleared off the last bit of infection. There was no more blood and she was stitching up the hole and redressed the wound and gave my mom some herbs and warned her for me to take them every day, or else the infection would return. I cleaned myself up and put my hair back into its usual braid.

"Let's go, I need some food, I'm starving." I said. Gothi shook her head and my mom just laughed as she helped me out of Gothi's hut. As we made our way towards home, some warriors were nodding at me in pride or just congratulating me for killing the Nadder. Unfortunately, it didn't last as we bumped into a woman carrying a box of herbs towards Gothi's hut. As my mom helped the woman with her stuff, it was immediately snatched out of her hands and we were met with a fierce glare from Ingrid Thorston.

"Ingrid." My mom said, she was trying to get out of here as Ingrid Thorston was a woman not to be trifled with. She made my mom looked innocent when it came to her temper. She was pretty, but thin, not built like most of the woman on the island. Thin, but strong. She was the spitting image of Ruffnut; except Ingrid had a darker shade of blonde hair and her skin was paler, even if the sun touched her. Ingrid Thorston was the other healer on the island and was a midwife to those women on the island. She took no nonsense from anyone while her husband, Osmond Thorston was the complete opposite. He was built like the large Viking men, except his was more muscle than fat. He was a warrior and was in charge of some of the food supply on the island. He had the same shade of blonde the twins have and pale blue eyes that almost looked white. He was a jokester back in his day, but still kept a playful air around him as an adult. There was no doubt the twins got their love of trouble and pranks from Osmond.

"Brenna." Ingrid said in a cold voice. "I see you're getting Astrid from Gothi. I've heard of the Nadder spike that was in her side after she got her first dragon kill. A dragon kill at the age of fifteen, such a _great achievement_ for the Hofferson family." There was no love or empathy in her voice. She fixed me with a cold stare and gave my mother a nasty look before turning back to me. "I hope you're happy with your kill, you may have gotten a slight scar, but _Ruffnut_ hasn't been fairing all that well."

"Excuse _you!?"_ my mother said angrily. "Astrid has been hurt as well, I know Ruffnut has-"

"You know _nothing!_ " Ingrid shouted. "I want your daughter to stay the _hell_ away from mine! If Ruffnut decides to go back to training, they can work together in the ring and what else. But I want Astrid nowhere _near_ Ruffnut outside of that ring. I don't want them hanging out, talking, anything! Now if you excuse me, I need to give Gothi some new herbs and go back to help Ruffnut." Ingrid left us immediately and there were some Vikings staring at her in sympathy as she held her head high when she walked toward Gothi's hut. I wanted to ask my mom what happened with Ruffnut, but she shook her head at me and nodded her head toward home. My family wasn't rich or powerful like the Haddocks or Jorgensons, so we didn't have a large home with many rooms and sometimes struggled during the winter when it came to supplies. Our home was styled like other Viking homes with a dragon head decorating the post of the door. The first thing in our home was the small kitchen and hearth that was used for our cooking and supplies. There were hooks that were on the wall that held our weapons and vests. We had a one story home where there were only two rooms, mine and my mom's. There was a small wooden bench covered in furs where my mom motioned for me to sit. She put the medicine on the table and turned back to me and looked at me in a sorrowful expression.

"Please tell me Ruffnut isn't dead mom!" I pleaded.

"She's not gone Astrid, it's just that Ruffnut isn't very . . . _well_ "

"What the hell does that mean?" I demanded.

"Language, Astrid!" my mom glared at me before she sighed out in defeat. "Apparently, after you dodged the Nadder's fire, it hit Ruffnut. When she heard you scream, she ran back up to help, and she got burned instead. You know that Nadder's fire is almost equal to a Fireworm's, so it burns like the sun. It didn't kill her, but burned her lower back. When Tuffnut and the boys arrived Ruffnut was on the ground screaming in pain. Her lower back is scarred heavily and there isn't that much skin left back there. Osmond and Tuffnut had to hold her down screaming while her mother scrubbed her raw. When they were done with that, Ruffnut passed out in pain and woke up a day later. The Nadder didn't just destroy her skin, but almost paralyzed her. If that Nadder hit her just an inch more, she would have been paralyzed from the waist down. She can walk now, but every time she takes a step, pain comes if she tries. I tried to see her, but you know how Ingrid was. She wouldn't let anyone near Rufnut except for family. There's a high chance Ruffnut isn't coming back to training, she'll probably succeed her mother in the arts of healing."

"Crap. As long as she can walk, she'll be fine right?"

"Astrid! She almost _died_ that night and she won't be able to enter training again until she can walk without pain! She has to delay her dreams of being a warrior because of _your_ selfishness!"

"Are you serious!?"

"Enough, Astrid." My mom fixed me with a hard stare. "Just stay as far away as possible from the Thorston family, that's all I'm going to say to you." My mom walked away and left for the door. She must've gone on to help with the preparations for the upcoming winter. I took my hair out of my braid and made my may to my room. My room was small with shields and weapons decorating the wall, there was a drawer that held my clothes and underwear, and some books on the ground on dragon fighting and the types of dragons out there. I immediately took off my clothes and stayed in my bed in only my bindings and underwear as I was starting to feel hot and dizzy from standing up too long from my injury. As my head hit my pillow, I fell asleep with Ruffnut on my mind as my eyes closed.

* * *

 _A few hours later. . ._

When I woke up again, it was dark outside and it must've been dinner time. I pulled on my usual outfit and braided my hair back and put on my headband. I added a fur vest for the cold temperature outside since you could freeze to death on Berk with the upcoming winter. I moved toward the Great Hall and my side ached but I ignored it as I opened the door and was met with immediate warmth and the scent of food. My stomach growled and I went straight for the tables that held food. I grabbed some smoked fish with some beef and milk. I made my way to the usual table I sat with the gang. Only Fishlegs and Snotlout were there, and it looked like they made up somewhat since they were arguing over something and as I got closer I could hear their conversation.

"Monstrous Nightmare can totally trump a Night Fury!" Snotlout bragged. "There's no way it can lose."

"But we've never seen a Night Fury Snotlout." Fishlegs countered. "Even if we did, I'm pretty sure the Night Fury could evade defeat. If it could always hide from Vikings for thousands of years, then it could probably take down a Nightmare very fast."

"Whatever." Snotlout rolled his eyes. "What about a Nadder? I'm pretty sure a Nadder could go down from a fight from a Nightmare."

"Analytically speaking, Nadders are smart and agile, while Nightmares are strong and brute. There could be a tie between them as a Nadder could dodge their attacks, but a Nightmare could counter that with their size and strength." Fishlegs immediately noticed me since he was faced towards me while Snotlout's back was to my front. Snotlout looked at Fishlegs strangely, and he turned around and saw me. His face didn't show joy, but confusion as to what I was doing there with them. He pursed his lips and looked back from me to Fishlegs and gave Fishlegs a look before standing up.

"I'm gonna go eat with my parents, see ya Fishy." He walked away and didn't even acknowledge me as he went straight to the high table where the Chief, Gothi, and his parents were with other high ranking members of Berk.

I sat down and started eating my chicken. "What's _his_ deal?" I asked Fishlegs. There was a troubled look on his face, with a hint of anger. Fishlegs didn't say anything, but poked his fish to avoid talking to me. I was slightly irritated. "Now what's _your_ deal?" Fishlegs looked at me and shook his head before he started to speak.

"Congrats on your Nadder, Astrid." _So it's about the Nadder and Ruffnut._

"Fishlegs."

"Ruffnut almost died because you were so busy killing a dragon! Instead of relishing in your victory of killing the dragon, you should be at the Thorston home visiting Ruffnut and apologizing to her!"

"I am, Fish, but not yet."

"Then, when!?" he was starting to get loud and a few people started to look towards us. I gave them a glare and they turned back to their own conversations, but I was pretty sure they kept an ear out so they can gossip about it later through Berk's grapevine. "Did you not hear anything from Gobber and Stoick when they talked about teamwork? We all could've helped you take down the Nadder and gain some recognition from the village, but you were too damn selfish! And because of what you did, Ruffnut suffered big time!"

"You don't think I know that!?" I slammed my hands down on the table and stood up.

"No I don't think you do!" Fishlegs gave me a hard glare. "Snotlout doesn't trust you anymore because of what you did. Ruffnut was your best friend and she got screwed over, big time! If it was Tuffnut, Snotlout or I, we would suffer the same fate as Ruff, or probably even worse!"

"Look who grew a pair."

"I've always had them; I just chose not to use them." Fishlegs shook his head in disgust. "Snotlout doesn't trust you, I'm don't know what to think of you anymore, and I know for sure the twins want nothing to do with you anymore. "

"Fishlegs!"

"Bye, Astrid. Enjoy your glory." Fishlegs got up and left the table and moved over to where his parents were. He was immediately met with a quick kiss on the cheek from his mom and a nod from his dad. They sat and spoke animatedly of the upcoming winter and dragon training. I was left alone at the table by myself with no one by my side. I was alone. I got up and left the Great Hall immediately. I made my way to the Thorston home and knocked. The Thorston home was an adequate home. It wasn't too fancy like the Jorgensons or Haddocks, but it wasn't small like mine. The Thorston family made a decent living and could do as much as they could, but with some limits. I could hear some footsteps and the door opened, I was met with Tuffnut who looked shocked, and then pissed that I came to his house.

"Tuff, I know you're angry about what I did."

"Angry, you think I'm angry?" Tuffnut started. His voice was eerily calm and it sent chills down my back, that not even the winds could do. "I'm not angry, I thought it was cool that you took down that Nadder, and then left my sister to _die in the dirt_. You selfish bitch! Who do you think you are coming here after what you did!? You are so lucky that I'm not a girl, cause If I was I would've took my spear and shoved it right up your –"

"Tuffnut!" a deeper voice spoke. It was Osmond Thorston. The usual happy and funny smile was replaced by a stern and angry scowl. "Why in Thor's name are you yelling?" Osmond stepped closer to the door and saw me and his scowl deepened. "What are you doing here?"

"I was coming to apologize."

"An apology isn't enough Hofferson."

"Let her in." Ingrid said. We all turned around to see the twins' mother staring down at me from the top of the staircase. "Let her see what she did to my daughter."

" _Our_ daughter." She gave her husband a fierce glare and he sighed in defeat. He moved out of the way and ushered Tuffnut away from the door. Tuffnut and Osmond turned from me and went into the kitchen. I moved from the door and I walked up the stairs and Ingrid watched my every move.

"Follow." She ordered. I walked behind her, but she would slow her steps to make sure I was following her and I was sure to keep up. We stopped in front of a door and Ingrid opened it and gestured for me to come in. I already knew the way to Ruffnut's room since I've been to the Thorston home so many times before in the past, but now that I was in here again, I felt like a stranger. Ruffnut's room was usually messy with her clothes thrown around and her weapons out of place, but everything was in order. Her weapons were on the hooks on her walls, her clothes were put away in the drawer, and her boots were lined up in the closet. The only thing that seemed out of place was Ruffnut herself. She was lying on her stomach and there was a large bandage on her back. Ruffnut turned her head and looked at me. She didn't show any emotion, and that scared the crap out of me.

"Mom, can you leave us alone?" Ruffnut asked. Her mom looked angry and was about to protest, but she gave up. "I'll be with your dad and brother if you need me." Ruffnut nodded and Ingrid left the room and closed the door. When Ingrid left, Ruffnut gave me the darkest glare that could even challenge her mom's.

"Ruff, I don't know where to start."

"Really?" she said. "'Cause I do. You were supposed to be my _best_ friend. We talk and do everything together and you left me to _die_. When Fish saw you and the Nadder, I dropped the water and ran straight to you. Tuff tried to pull me back but I fought him and came for you. But you…" Her voice was really hoarse and she was sweating. "You left me on the dirt bleeding out. I was crying my eyes out and screaming while you were running around and playing cat and mouse with some _fucking_ dragon. Tuff was screaming at everyone and Fish was trying to calm him down while Snotlout ran for my parents. My dad had to hold Tuffnut down while my mom couldn't move me, because she was scared shitless in paralyzing me. So I had to lie in the dirt covered in blood while my dad and Tuff held me down as my mom scrubbed my skin off and blood came from the wound like a damn geyser. I blacked out after that and woke up to noise. It was Tuffnut throwing the furniture and breaking half of what he had in his room. My father was cursing you to the Gods and mom cursed out your mom for trying to come and see me at the door. Our kitchen is overflowing with fish pies and more food because they feel sorry. I can't do a damn thing for almost a year because of _you_.

"I used to be jealous of you, you know. You were always more pretty and a better fighter. People would say I'm good, but you were always better. Astrid this, Astrid that, barely anything about me. And now everyone is kissing the damn ground you walk on because you killed a dragon outside of training while I'm _laying here covered in sweat and blood_. But now that I see you, you're nothing but a cold, selfish bitch who doesn't give a rat's ass about anyone than herself. "Ruffnut moved the blanket that was covering the lower half of her body and I gasped when I saw the wound. Even though the bandages covered the worst part of the damage, you could still see the extent it caused. Her lower back was surrounded in red and somewhat black skin. There were tiny scars caused from the brushing that was permanent. There was some yellowing as well, which pointed to infection. Her legs had scars on them, that weren't too visible, unless you looked closely. If this was the surrounding damage, there was no way in hell I wanted to see the actual wound. "So congrats on your kill Astrid, I hope it was worth all the glory and honor, cause Snotlout, Fishlegs, Tuffnut, and I want _nothing_ to do with you. Now get the hell out of my room and house."

I slammed her door open and ran out of the Thorston home as fast as possible. I came in front of my house and opened the door and almost broke. I came into the kitchen and took my medicine and immediately came to my room. I slowly stripped out of my clothes and laid down in my bed. Someone dropped off the skull of the Nadder to my mom and she left it on top of my dresser. As I looked toward the skull, it didn't feel me with pride or glory, but shame. I started to feel the tears roll down my cheeks and I couldn't stop them. I lost all my friends and even my own _mother_ was slightly disgusted over my reaction to Ruffnut. The glory from the Nadder was nothing, without someone to share it with. I cried and there was nobody there to comfort me. I was utterly and desperately alone.

* * *

A/N: Here you go! This chapter highlights the relationship between Astrid and Ruffnut and you see what happens after the Nadder that came down on Astrid and Ruffnut. I wanted to bring out how Ruffnut feels towards Astrid and you see that when she calls her out on her actions on gaining glory, by sacrificing Ruffnut to do so. I'm pretty sure everyone has that one friend that's slightly better than you in a way or more than one where you feel inadequate in some way, and that's how Ruffnut felt when being next to Astrid. I think Ruffnut knew that Astrid was always selfish in some way, but didn't really open her eyes until she almost died to it. I was going to use Snotlout instead of Fishlegs to tell Astrid off in the Great Hall, but i changed my mind since Fishlegs is someone who could drill reason into Astrid's head better than Snotlout. Ruffnut is not going to be in dragon training anymore, so that just leaves Fishlegs, Snotlout, Astrid, and Tuffnut. Tuffnut is pissed. He is very, very, VERY PISSED. Ruff isn't just his sister, but his twin, so he knows every action and feelings from her so his reaction is showing how attached they are in life. You'll see how Ruffnut not being by his side affects him in later chapters. Astrid doesn't realize until it's too late that she may have gained some great acknowledgement from the village, but it's nothing without it being celebrated by the people who love you. The boys and Ruffnut are officially done with Astrid and you'll see how that affects her in later chapters as well. Snotlout gets a wake up call from Astrid's act and realizes that she is someone who wouldn't mind breaking you to get what she wants, so he doesn't admire her as much as he used to and the infatuation he had with her is gone. COMPLETELY. I edited the timeline so you can see the future events and what's going to happen. Btw, there is a poll on my profile, if you haven't seen it yet, please vote because i need your input to further the story. I hope you enjoy this chapter and review to give me your thoughts on it, as well as what you want to see in the next chapter or so.

* * *

Response to Reviews:

MMM: Berk is not going to find Hiccup anytime soon. They are not going to want him back, _yet_. Hiccup is going to teach the Bog's, or attempt to, on dragon riding.

Transformers 0: LOL! You are so right about that.

The Gods Only Knew and Tilicia and .9279: I decided that when i saw a lot of people asking for Changewings, Camicazi will get that as her dragon.

NoTearsFalling: That's true. Hiccup teaches Astrid humility and without him there, she doesn't know how to let go of her usual habits on being the best.

Porcupain: Thanks.

Brenne: Sorry, she just got a hole on her side, the arms still there. Hiccup and Camicazi will be the main focus for the next few chapters, so you'll see what they'll be doing.

Tchurch: Thanks for the idea of Snotlout losing interest in Astrid, i hope you liked the way i used it in the story.

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Timeline:

 **Chapter 1 – Hiccup leaves Berk, but get's captured.**

 **Chapter 2 – Stoick returns to Berk and gets some surprising news. Hiccup reunites with an old friend. An old enemy returns. An escape is in progress.**

 **Chapter 3 – Hiccup reunites with Camicazi and escapes.**

 **Chapter 4- Hiccup tells Camicazi the truth. Hiccup and Camicazi reconnect. Dragon Training continues at Berk.**

 **Chapter 5 – Dragon training continues on Berk. Devastating raid. Stoick has regrets.**

 **Chapter 5.5 - Astrid v. Ruffnut**

Chapter 6 – The Bog-Burglar Tribe. A mysterious figure on Bog territory.

Chapter 7 – Negotiations with Big Boobied Bertha.

Chapter 7.5 - Dragon Training Champion

Chapter 8 – Weapon training begins. Hiccup and Camicazi get closer. New friends and romances.

Chapter 8.5 - Snoggletog.

Chapter 9 – 1 year passes and a tribe asks for help. Confessions.

Chapter 10 – Hiccup continues his adventures. New discoveries. Hiccup finds a new tribe.


	7. The Bog-Burglar Tribe

Hiccup's POV

It took us about three days to get to the beach of the Bog Burglar tribe after Camicazi and I left the cave and made up. It would've been shorter, possibly even a day less if it we didn't have to stop every now and then to get water and food, but it was worth the wait. We got there at the dead of night and immediately made camp. I gave Camicazi my blanket and Toothless shot a plasma blast into the logs made for a fire.

I would've slept immediately like Camicazi did, but I decided to take in the beach of the Bog Burglar tribe. Even though I felt exhausted, the thrill of being somewhere new excited me. I never been anywhere else outside of Berk's territory, and what I knew of the Bog Burglar Tribe was little. From what I did know, was that the Bog's were predominantly female and the only tribe with a female Chieftess, they specialized in weaponry, and were a very wealthy group. The moon was shining and the sand of the beach gleamed in the light as the waves splashed by softly. I took in my new surroundings and wondered how I was going to start off teaching dragons to Bog's, they were more stubborn than any tribe, that's for sure. I sighed in defeat and curled into Toothless before i fell asleep, thinking of how tomorrow would be.

* * *

 _The next morning_

I woke up to the sounds of movement and saw Camicazi practicing sword fighting stances with sticks from the forest ahead. Even though she was just practicing, you could see the seriousness and intensity of her movements. The sticks weren't just objects but a part of her. She didn't realize that I was awake so I clapped my hands to get her attention. Toothless was in the ocean munching on the fish happily, in his own world. The only sign of response from Camicazi was a slight twitch from her right arm and a smirk that formed onto her face.

"You know you sleep like the dead, right?" she said. I smiled in response to her. She threw the sticks back into the forest and turned to me. She offered a hand and I grabbed it as she pulled me up off the ground and I dusted the sand off of myself. Toothless immediately came to my side and licked my face as a greeting. "Morning, buddy." He warbled in satisfaction for the attention he was given. I looked around the beach of the Bog tribe and gave a questioning look to Camicazi.

"So where do we go now?" I asked.

"First, we're going to have to hide the big black Night Fury so nobody can find him."

"That's true, but where though?"

"Come on, I know the perfect place for this lazy reptile." She laughed. Toothless huffed out in annoyance and swung his tail at Camicazi. She quickly dodged his tail and smirked at her small victory, but she got hit by his tail on the back of her head, face planting into the sand. Toothless and I laughed before I helped her off the ground. She shook her head and sputtered the sand out of her face. I wiped her face and licked my finger to get the small smudge of dirt off her cheek that she missed when trying to clean herself off. She looked up and blushed at me and I blushed as well at what I did. She gently pushed me away and then punched my shoulder in affection. "Come on Hiccup, we don't have all day!" I turned to Toothless who gave me a certain look. "What are you looking at?" I said to him. He just shook his head at me and rushed towards Camicazi who was waiting for us.

This part of the Bog's forest was thick with trees and plants. The sun shined through the small openings and gave the forest life. I was still surprised the forest was lively and rich, with the upcoming winter. Winter on Berk lasted at least three long months and the most of the time after that, there was a slight chill afterwards in the air.

"We don't have the same winter over at Berk or in Meathead territory." Camicazi said. "Since we're further away, winter isn't such a problem. We get snow like everyone else, but not so much that we have to halt most of our tasks. The ice sets in the ocean, but it's not thick, so be careful. You could fall in and freeze to death at any moment. Before winter comes, we have a large bonfire where everyone dresses their best and burn anything where it gives us a bad memory. We call it the Burning of Yesterday."

"The Burning of Yesterday?"

"Hey, I didn't come up with the name. If I did, it would be something so much better."

I laughed at that. Bog culture was interesting to me. "What do you guys do for Snoggletog?"

"Snoggletog!" Her eyes lit up like a child receiving their first Snoggletog present. "It's the best. We choose the biggest tree from the forest and bring it to the center of the village. We decorate it with lanterns or anything with color to brighten up the place. Mom does a village wide prayer to the Gods and then presents are opened later in our own homes and such. After that, there's a huge feast in the Great Hall where we bust out the best wine and party all night long. You have not _lived_ until you partied with a Bog."

"Well it looks like my life is about to get a whole lot more interesting, with you Bogs." We laughed together and she led me through more trees until she stopped in front of a cove. This cove was a lot like the one back at Berk where I first met Toothless. Rocks, tree roots, and a pond were all present. The only thing out of place were the baskets that were down there and some weapons. I turned to Camicazi and sent her a questioning look.

"I grabbed most of your stuff already and filled a basket of fish for Toothless. He'll be down there for quite a while, depending on how we can get my mom to see that dragons aren't harmless."

"And the weapons?"

"Just in case anyone comes that isn't me." She explained. "The island is large, very large, but that doesn't mean that somebody won't walk through this forest sometime and stumble upon a Night Fury basking in the sun. Toothless won't always be able to fight your battles, you're going to have to learn how to protect yourself sooner or later." Toothless had already made his way down into the cove and started to rifle through the baskets of fish. She was right, Toothless wouldn't be able to protect me forever and I had to learn how to defend myself. I moved towards Toothless and gave him a pat on his head and he cooed in affection. He moved towards Camicazi and gave her the biggest lick possible on the side of her face.

"Oh my Gods!" she shuddered. She was trying to wipe off most of the slobber, but was barely succeeding.

"Yeah, it doesn't wash out." She gave me a bewildered look before turning towards the opening of the cove. I caught up with her and we were walking towards the village to get cleaned up and head towards her house. On our way, she spoke more of Bog traditions and events. There was a Harvest festival where there would be a week long party celebrating good fortune and the growth of food. Thawfest had already passed and the Regatta would be coming soon. We could hear the sounds of voices and movement from where we stood in the forest. My heart started to beat as fast as possible and my hands were slightly clammy.

"Hiccup." I turned to her. "Calm down, I can hear your heart beating like Toothless' wings. You'll be fine."

"Yeah, says the girl who's the daughter of a Chieftess where the tribe hates men."

"For Freya's sake! Hiccup if you don't go, I'll kick you into the village."

"I think I might need that kick." She kicked me into the forest with her foot and I stumbled down onto the ground. Some women were staring at me weirdly and I could hear a few whispers directed towards me. Camicazi jumped out of the forest and picked me up off the ground. She wrapped an arm around my shoulder and threw her other arm up in the air. "Did anyone miss me?" Camicazi was instantly met with laughter and praise.

"Camicazi, where did you go this time?"

"Who's this little boy?"

"What trouble did you cause this time?"

"It's good to see you Camicazi!"

"Our crazy heir has returned!"

"Bertha is going to get you Camicazi, that's for sure!"

"This is my good friend Hiccup you guys, the only person who can mess with him is me, so back off! Let's just say Alvin is pretty pissed having his ass handed to him by a fifteen year old girl, that's for sure. If anyone see's my mom, warn me! Now go on, and someone bring me some clothes for him at my place!" The crowd instantly dispersed and went on back to their duties. Everything about the Bog tribe was bigger and better than Berk, the homes, the activity, and the love. The Bog-Burglar tribe consisted mainly of women, and the population of men was at least half of the women. Their clothes were more colorful and bold, and there was a bit more children and teens. There were a group of teens coming towards us as we made our way toward Camicazi's house. There were five of them coming towards us. Three were girls the other two were boys. The boys were tall and strong, but not overly muscular like Snotlout or Fishlegs. The first boy was thin and a few inches taller than me. He wore leathers and furs that matched his playful air. He had the most dark hair possible and gray eyes. The girl standing next to him must have been related to him somehow, they had similar features and the only difference was that she had wavy hair and wore a green shirt and tan leggings with matching boots. They both carried bows and a large amount of arrows.

The other two girls were complete opposites. One girl had brown hair that was cut so short, it barely touched her shoulders. Her eyes had a very dark look to them, like she saw something that she shouldn't have. She had a thin frame, but was tall. The other girl would've been a dream to other guys. She had the most thick and curly black hair that tumbled down her back. Her hazel eyes stared deep into your soul with one look. The other guy had an air of mysteriousness around him. He was older than the others, which was easy to tell. His features were sharper and darker. His skin was a tad darker than anyone else is on the island and he had claw marks on his neck, but it was hidden under the leather and fur he was wearing.

"Cami! Were on our way to train, want to join?" the dark-haired boy said.

"Sorry, but I have to take Hiccup here to get cleaned up at my place."

"Hiccup?" the beautiful girl said.

"Hiccup, these are some of my friends. This is Destin." The dark haired boy nodded. "Dalla" The dark curly haired girl smiled. "Pavla" the tiny, yet tall girl only raised her eyebrows in greeting. "Valerie" the blonde beauty smiled. "And Zyon" the older boy merely shrugged.

"Hiccup." Valerie said. "Whenever you're done playing with Camicazi, come and join us. We'll be in the ring."

"Um, ok." I said. She winked and turned back to her friends. Most of them waved goodbye to us, while Palva and Zyon were silent. They headed down some path and disappeared. There was a slight scowl on Camicazi's face when I turned back to look at her. She was staring down the path where Valerie and the others went and whipped her head back to me. "Val is a natural flirt; don't fall for anything that girl does. She has half the guys on the island wrapped around her finger." She demanded. "Don't worry, I wasn't." I reassured her. "Good." She said "Come on, we still got a way to go."

The village was large and the houses were even bigger as we were walking up the hill towards Camicazi house. You could tell this is where the richer and more powerful people in the Bog tribe resided at. Their homes were colorful and larger. They didn't follow the curved structure some houses did, but were made out of bricks from fine cut stone. "Here we are." Camicazi announced.

"Whoa." I said. Her house was large, that's for sure. Despite some houses being on a slope, the richer area stayed on a flat terrain. Her home was made mainly out of stone and there were some pieces of wood on some parts. There were two figures of women 'holding' the house up with their swords raised high. There were some pieces of vines and grass that crept up on the walls, that would've been displeasing to some eyes, but it made the house even greater. There was a basket next to the door and Camicazi picked it up. "Wait till you see the inside." She smirked. She opened the door and my mouth dropped. There was a large hearth and a long table that could seat about eight people. There were tapestries and paintings that hung on the wall giving a warm and cozy feel to the house. The kitchen was stocked to the brim of food and sweets. There were two large chairs and a wooden bench covered in furs that faced the second hearth where the symbol of the Bog tribe was above. There were books and scrolls stacked neatly in the corner and a staircase that would lead up to the next level. She motioned for me to follow her and as we went up the stairs, there were shields that were decorated in paintings or symbols of other tribes.

"How many rooms are up here?" I asked.

"Five." She told me. "Mom's room is down the hall and my room is right here." We stopped in front of the door to her room. "Mom increased the house size because it gives a chance for those whose homes get destroyed in raids or Outcast attacks to stay with us until they can get back onto their feet." She opened the door to her room and I was once again shocked. It was large and filled completely. Her bed was large enough to fit three or four people my size to sleep in. It was covered in thick and soft furs that looked very valuable. She had a desk covered in beads of different colors where it looked like she was working on another beaded necklace. She had a dresser where clothes were stuffed and a closet where many boots and some of her furs were. She had a large amount of swords and daggers covering one side of the wall and the other side of the wall was a tapestry of Camicazi and her mom. But the thing that stood out the most was the stone tablet covered in words above Camicazi's bed. _Do not bow fown to any man, for you can stand up on your own two feet. Do not be submissive, and break tradition. Be strong, be bold, be a Bog._

"So what do you think?" she asked me.

"It's a great room." I told her. "The words though, are my favorite."

"A great room, really? I was hoping for fantastic, awesome, took your breath away, something better than a great room." She pouted. She turned to her wall with a faint smile on her face. "My mom had that made for me for my twelfth birthday. She said it would be a constant reminder for me to never bow down to anyone, especially men, who want to put me down and put me in my 'proper place'. I always look at it before I leave for any of my adventures."

I nodded in understanding. "But do you guys hate men _that_ much?" She whirled back to me and she was instantly on guard. Her eyes were wild, her stance was rigid, and a scowl came upon her face.

"Yes and no." she said. She took off her boots and layed down on the fur on the floor. I sat down with my knees to my chest and my hands on my chin, watching her movements. She seemed somewhat relax before she started again. "We Bogs don't necessarily hate men, we just hate how were looked down upon because were women. The Bog Burglar tribe is the only tribe where women outnumber men and there is a female Chieftess who isn't interested in being some broodmare to some guy. We're looked down upon because men have a stick up their ass thinking they own the world and a woman's body. Tell me this; were there any woman on Berk that held a leadership role where she wasn't a barmaid, a baby maker or cook?" My silence gave her the answer she already knew. " _Exactly_. Here with us Bogs, a woman can be a wife, mother, warrior, or whatever she wants without being screwed over by some man that wants all the glory or power in the world."

"Double standard much?"

"Hiccup, men are just as important here as women, but we have the final vote. The council is made up of ten people. Five women and five men, all from the highest position to the lowest one. My mom has the final vote as Chief. She could ignore whatever the men say in the village and listen to only the women, but she's not stupid, she wouldn't dare pull something so bold like that. The men know in the village that they will never hold the position as Chief, so we give them roles on the Council or put them in charge of hard labor or the armada, and so on. Remember how I told you about the Chief who came down here and badmouthed my mom back on Alvin's ship?" I nodded.

"That wasn't some exaggerated story. This douche of a Chief came down to our land after his ship got attacked by dragons. We gave him and his people food and shelter for some time until their ship was fully stocked and repaired. He took advantage of my mom and constantly berated her for being a woman and suggested too many times that she should be his bed warmer." My eyes widened at that, Bog women were not to be screwed with. "So my mom let him leave, without his _head_ since that was the thing he thought with instead of his brain. After that, no man from that tribe had ever come close to our waters. Here, we're free without any restraints"

I could understand where she was coming from. Women were considered to only be needed in the kitchen or as a wife alone. We only trained women on Berk on dragon killing because the dragon attacks got bigger and warriors were declining fast. I looked at Camicazi and she was mumbling the words on her wall under her breath. She shook her head and handed me the basket that was at the door earlier.

"Get cleaned up. You can use the room across from mine to stay in until my mom sees you." I got up and headed towards the room she told me of. It wasn't as big as Camicazi's but very comfortable. The bed was large and there were some empty closets and drawers. There was another door and I opened it to see a bath with some slightly warm water that looked comforting. I quickly stripped out of my clothes and climbed into the tub and immediately relaxed. It was comforting to stay in a place where I didn't have to hide in fear of being discovered. I cleaned myself up and patted myself down dry with one of the spare furs. I opened the basket and immediately pulled on the clothes I was given. The tunic was a rich forest green and the pants I were given were black with a matching fur vest that had the Bog symbol, three swords connecting, sewed in with yellow lace. There were a pair of boots that went up to my knees and I felt relaxed. New clothes and a nice bath perked up my mind. There was a knock on the door and I opened it to see Camicazi cleaned up and put together.

"You look, great." I breathed out. She changed into a short sleeved blue, fitted tunic with a grey armored skirt that had matched. There was a grey cropped fur vest that rested perfectly on her. She had grey boots as well. Her usual beaded necklace was replaced with silver bands that were on her arms and wrists. Her hair was somewhat tame and braided into one with black beads entwined in her golden locks.

"Not so bad yourself. She replied. "Now let's go, if we don't get down to the training block, Destin and Dalla will have our heads, they live and breathe fighting." We walked out of her house and she led me down many paths. There were stalls where you could see the work being done. There were men counting the food supply, women arguing over the price of some fabric, children running around and playing games, some elders being helped into their homes and more. The village was so lively; I don't think I could ever get bored here. We walked past many buildings where work was being done. Buildings were being reinforced for the winter, ships were being touched up near the harbor, leather and cloths were being made, and the forge was busy with a man and woman working in there making tools. I stopped in front of the forge watching their movement as they passed each other tools and equipment. A quick slap to the back of my head brought me back to reality. I turned back to Camicazi who gave me a questioning look.

"Do you want to go in?" she asked.

"Yeah, I haven't been in a forge in quite some time." We walked in and I was amazed at some of the detail on the weapons. They were finely sharpened or the hilts were designed in the shape of a dragon or animal. The place was organized, but still had some mess that showed the work put into the weapons and tools that were displayed proudly or kept in their boxes. The man turned around and smiled earnestly at the both of us and ushered us inside.

"Camicazi! It's good to see you girl, do you need another sword sharpened?"

"Not yet Vinnie, this is my friend Hiccup, he's staying with me for a while until he gets settled down permanently here." She smiled.

"Oh! It's always great to see a new face here and now. See anything you like here Hiccup?"

"Everything." I breathed out. "Did you use a nickel steel for that sword?"

"That I did! The boy knows his metals, Sage, come here and look at Camicazi's new friend!" The woman moved and she gave us a warm smile in greeting. She was slightly pudgy and pretty despite being covered in sweat and soot from the heat of the forge. "Nice to meet you Hiccup! Are you getting a sword? Camicazi here comes by all the time with her crazy tales and ruined swords for us."

"No, I was just telling your husband that I like the swords he made."

"He makes the swords, but _I_ think of all the ideas and plans. Don't be fooled by him, the reason why this place is still standing is because I keep it up and fire free."

"Hey! That incident was years ago, and you know it!"

"And that incident was a twenty eight year old man who forgot to douse the hearth and almost burned down this place in his rush to go make a bet in which he lost." Vinnie grumbled in frustration while Sage, Camicazi, and I laughed at Vinnie's berating. "Stop by any time Hiccup, you'll always be welcomed here. Why don't you help out if you can if Camicazi won't be dragging you into tons of messes and problems?" she laughed. "That would be great!" I replied to her. "Have you ever worked in a forge before Hiccup?" Vinnie asked. "My whole life." I told her. "Then it's done! You can start tomorrow if you like." Some bells were ringing and Sage turned to a group of people who were asking for her.

"It was a nice meeting you!" Sage said to me before turning back to help her husband. We walked out and Camicazi gave me a quick smile.

"For someone who's nervous to talk about dragons to my mom, you just got yourself a job and seemed pretty content with how you handled yourself right there."

"Well the forge is like a second home to me, talking to your mom is going to be a whole different situation."

"Well, that's true. But if you got me, I'm pretty sure you'll get my mom."

"Let's hope so."

"My Gods" I said looking at the arena.

"Are you going to be shocked by every little thing on this island?"

"Yeah, I think I am."

The training area was double the size of the one back at Berk. There were weapon racks all over the arena with various shields and swords. There were maces, clubs, hammers, swords, bolas and so many weapons on the walls or racks. The teens were sparring with each other or doing obstacle courses that were set up in the corners.

Destin and Dalla were doing target practice with their arrows and bows. Palva was doing hand to hand combat with Valerie and Zyon was practicing sword stances by himself. Destin and Dalla never missed their mark, they shot every single painted target in the center while Valerie and Palva were trying to hurt one another but barely succeeding. Zyon took notice of us first and got everyone's attention to look at us.

"It's about damn time." Destin said. He turned to us and there was a playful look in his eyes. "Where did you and Hiccup go, a flight around the island?" Zyon and Palva rolled their eyes while Dalla and Valerie groaned.

"You'd be surprised of what Hiccup and I have done so far." Camicazi rolled her eyes.

"Oh! Do tell!"

"Shut it D, how do you live with this fool of a brother of yours Dalla?"

"Years and years of practice." She sighed. Camicazi and I laughed at that while Destin ignored his sisters' comment.

"Let me reintroduce myself: Destin Corrigan, the best archer on the island."

"Don't reply to that fool." Palva finally spoke. "It'll only make his ego get bigger"

"Like Val's ass?" Destin cheekily said. "That can get bigger at any time, I won't complain."

Valerie snatched Destin's arrow out of his hand and quickly pointed it at him. "Say one more word about my body, I dare you. I'll take this arrow and I'll castrate you with it."

While Valerie and Destin argued, Zyon gave Camicazi a sword. They sharpened their swords before settling into fighting stances.

"Is he always that . . .?" I started.

"Foolish? Stupid? Idiotic? Perverted?" Dalla asked. "Yes, yes he is. And he wonders why his relationships only last less than a month." Palva, Dalla, and I laughed at Destin who was being kicked around by Valerie, before we heard the sounds of swords clashing together. We all turned to see Camicazi and Zyon fighting deadly with the weapons in their hands. Even Valerie and Destin took a break from their arguing to look at the pair who was fighting expertly.

"Zyon's a prodigy with most weapons." Palva said. "You can give him almost any weapon and he'll know exactly how to use it without any knowledge beforehand. He could give Camicazi a run for her money when it comes to sword fighting, especially."

"Has she ever lost against him?" I asked. After seeing her take down Alvin, I would think Camicazi to be undefeated in the field of battle.

"Nope, and he's never won against her." Palva observed the two with a critical eye. Camicazi was holding her own against Zyon perfectly. Zyon kept on coming at Camicazi, not giving her time to attack, keeping her guarded. She ran from him and he came after her, but she launched herself off the ground, onto the wall, kicked off, and forced all her weight on Zyon, making him stumble back. "All their fights end in a draw." They were going at each other, not giving the other time to fully attack or back down. Zyon was bigger, and he used that to his advantage, but Camicazi was more agile and fast. Zyon found an opening from Camicazi and rushed her, and Camicazi seemed to sense his movements as well. At the same time their swords were at least an inch from their skins. Zyon's at Camicazi's throat and Camicazi's at Zyon's _lower_ head. They were panting like crazy and watched the other one with a sharp eye, for any sudden movements.

"Draw?" Zyon asked.

"Draw." Camicazi replied.

I cheered for them along with the others. We were all so focused on their battle; we didn't notice the gate that opened earlier and the woman who was leaning on the wall watching the battle with a critical eye.

"I would've cut him, you never want to draw in battle where your enemy won't think twice on taking your life easily." She said. We all turned toward the voice and Camicazi's mouth dropped.

"Mom!" she yelled. Big Boobied Bertha was a sight that was for sure. She was tall and curvy and had the curliest blonde hair that was styled in a single braid that went over her shoulder and stopped at her chest. The nickname Big Boobied wasn't an understatement. She was very well. . . _endowed_ on her chest. She wore a dark red dress that fitted her perfectly and black fur boots that came up to her knees. Instead of a cape, she had a thick, rich dark fur sash across her body that had the Bog crest sewed into it. She had gold bracelets on her wrists and a dark leather band that was encrusted with black and red jewels on her head. Her blue eyes stared deeply at her daughter as she spoke boldly and seriously about fighting. Everyone bowed their heads in respect and I quickly did the same.

"Everyone please leave, I need to talk to Camicazi now." Bertha spoke softly, but you could hear the authority in her voice that wasn't to be challenged. Everyone started to leave the arena quickly and I tried to shuffle between the girls, but Bertha wasn't going to let me go so easily. "Not you, Hiccup." I halted immediately and stood by Camicazi. Once everyone left, and their footsteps were no longer heard, Bertha had a stern look on her face directed toward Camicazi.

"Camicazi" she started. "How in Freya's name did you come back home? I sent almost the entire fleet after you, and here you are, just playing with Zyon and the others. Did you know we ran into Alvin and his lackeys, with him ranting on and on how he has you captured and that I'll never see you again? We immediately attacked him and scouted the entire ship and you weren't there. Can you please explain this to me?"

"Long story short, Hiccup and I got captured by Outcasts, we broke out of our cells, defeated Alvin and got off of his ship and came back home as fast as possible. I had a feeling you would send the whole fleet so we wanted to beat you back here before you came back home."

She arched an eyebrow and pursed her lips at Camicazi's story. "And how did Hiccup get captured?"

"I may have been exploring a little outside of Berk territory and Alvin knocked me out and grabbed me." I said surprisingly steady.

"And Stoick hasn't noticed his only son and heir is missing?" Bertha fixed me with a hard stare. "I'll tell him that you're here and you need to go back home."

"No!" I yelled. I could feel Camicazi staring at me warningly. "I mean, the ice will set sooner or later and I know you don't want any Hairy Hooligans coming here, getting stuck, and annoying you for months until the ice melts." Bertha's eyes narrowed at my words and I could tell she was slowly giving in to what I was saying.

"Please tell me you burglarized _something_ from Alvin's ship, Camicazi." Bertha demanded

"I got Alvin's sword." Camicazi said proudly.

"You got his sword?!" Bertha and I said in unison. Camicazi nodded in assurance. A sly smile came onto Bertha's face and her eyes lit up with mischief. "I can imagine Alvin's face right now if he tried raiding our lands. Just think about it, you or me taking on Alvin with his own ancestral sword! Ha, what I would give to see that face! Well I guess, Camicazi has already showed you our home Hiccup" I nodded. "Good, you can stay with us until the ice melts and you'll return home immediately. Only one thing, what do you intend to do during your stay, we can't just have anyone lounging around not doing anything."

"He got a job at the forge." Camicazi says proudly. "He starts tomorrow."

"Wow, I didn't know Hiccup could make weapons." Bertha said surprisingly.

"I'm full of surprises."

"Let's hope there all good ones." She turned and walked out of the arena and left Camicazi and I in the ring in dead silence. We let out a breath of relief that we didn't know we were holding in. "I can't believe she believed that."

"I don't." Camicazi said. "My mom is way too smart to believe a crappy lie or story. I wouldn't be surprised if there are more guards following you than actual villagers. You need to be careful, especially with Toothless."

I didn't dare argue or try to convince her otherwise, Chieftess Bertha was someone who would protect her villagers at any cost, no matter the risk.

* * *

 _Hours later. . ._

I was with Camicazi and the others walking to the Great Hall for dinner. I would've stayed inside the house and ate dinner by myself, but Bertha and Camicazi refused. Bertha wanted me to experience the luxuries of what the Bog Burglars had and enjoy what I wouldn't be able to on that 'cold waste of an island'. Camicazi wanted me to see the inside of the Great Hall, she's been holding it for the last item to see on the island since Destin and Dalla toured me around while Camicazi had to go to a council meeting with Bertha and Valerie, who was a councilwoman's daughter. Zyon disappeared for some hours and returned just before Destin started to search for him.

The Great Hall was large. It was made entirely out of bricsk and the large wooden doors were engraved in the large symbol of the Bog Burglar tribe. There were statues made out of stone of great female warriors, and even a few men as well. Camicazi opened the doors and the rich smell of spices and wine was causing my mouth to salivate. The Great Hall was bright and full of life with the large amount of people and decorations everywhere. There were paintings of former Chieftess' and their families and tapestries on the walls of past battles and more. There was a bar in the far corner where men and women were doing drinking games. The tables were lined up and there was a large one with different types of food. From smoked fish, spiced pork, various fruit and vegetables, to mutton, sweet breads and fruit tarts.

"Wow." I sat down at a table where Camicazi and the girls were headed to and we were talking animatedly about the swordfight between her and Zyon. Destin and Zyon were balancing large plates of food and drinks that they placed onto the table. They gave me plates which I helped pass around and grabbed some food that looked good. The minute the meat met my mouth, I was met with such a rich taste that I enjoyed.

Bertha clanged her cup against the table she was sitting at. The hall quieted down and Bertha had the room's full attention.

"Here we have a new face. His name is Hiccup and he is from the Isle of Berk where the Hairy Hooligans reside at. For now, Hiccup is staying with us Bogs and will contribute to us by helping in our forge. Let's give Hiccup a warm Bog welcome and raise our cups to him. To Hiccup!"

"To Hiccup!" everyone repeated. I was sitting around with people who didn't look down on me and befriended me despite my size. For the first time, I was somewhere where I truly belonged.

* * *

Two weeks later. . .

I just finished my afternoon shift at the forge with Vinnie and Sage. For the past two weeks, I worked at the forge and adapted a routine. Wake up, eat breakfast with Cami, go to the forge most of the day, watch Camicazi and the others train, explore Bog territory, eat dinner, take a midnight flight on Toothless with Camicazi, and return home. This time, Camicazi and I skipped dinner and went straight to Toothless. He was getting agitated staying in the same place for so long, and I couldn't blame him. He lost a part of himself because I tried to hunt for a better life of recognition and fame, without realizing the consequences. But despite the pain I caused him, we formed a forbidden friendship and improved each other's lives.

It was dark and the torches were lit all over the island, giving it a soft glow from the sky where we were flying.

"That was some ride Hiccup." Camicazi laughed. Every day we would think of a way to convince Bertha on how dragons were actual peaceful creatures. But we would always hit a dead end as Camicazi shot down most of the ideas that would incur her mother's wrath. It was getting harder to disappear at night without being noticed. I was staying in the place where sneakiness and stealth were at the highest peak. We were in a comfortable silence as Toothless glided softly in the air, slowly heading back to the forest.

"Oh, no." Camicazi had suddenly turned rigid on the saddle. I turned to her and sent her a questioning look. I looked down and there were a few ships in the water. "I forgot mom is testing out the new ships this late. She likes to break them in early before showing the villagers! Hiccup, we need to get out of here. Now!" I tried to steer Toothless away, but we were too late. A bola was coming straight for us and failed to catch onto Toothless' tail. Another bola came but instead of hitting Toothless, it hit Camicazi and she fell out of the saddle and plummeted toward the ground. I immediately steered Toothless towards Camicazi who was screaming her head off in absolute terror.

"HICCUP!" She screamed. Her eyes were wide with fear and tears were slowly pooling in her eyes.

"Just a little closer!" I told Toothless and Camicazi. "Come on, were almost there!" I grabbed onto her hand and pulled her into the saddle and she latched onto me and did not let go. We were getting close to the ground and a spear hit Toothless' side to cause damage, but not death. We hit the ground and were flung out of the saddle. Camicazi and I were still latched onto each other as we fell into the dirt and landed next to Toothless who was bleeding on the ground. He moaned out in pain and his head came to the ground, still. Camicazi and I were next to Toothless immediately, but were met by guards who were shocked to see their heir protecting a dragon, rather than killing it. But their shock was nothing compared to Bertha's whose whole face screamed betrayal.

"Camicazi, Hiccup." She started. "What in Thor's name is going on!?"

"Surprise?" Camicazi squeaked out.

* * *

A/N: OMG, this is the longest chapter i have ever written. Close to 7,000 words and it was about 13 pages in Word. I hope you guys like this chapter and enjoy the culture of the Bog Burglar tribe. Here, you get to read about the Bog Burglar tribe where Camicazi resides and grew up in, with only her mother. Introduced to new characters and customs on Berk. You get to see Hiccup who is enjoying the life of a Bog and meeting new people who don't look down on him because he is small or scrawny. My favorite part on writing this chapter was Hiccup and Camicazi's conversation on women's roles in viking society. The banter between the two is something i loved to write on because i wanted to highlight Hiccup's thoughts on the society in which he lives in. I wanted to let everyone know that there is a high chance that i may give you multiple chapters at once instead of week by week because i have to study for my PRAXIS which is a test i have to take and pass this summer in my steps to become a teacher. Also i reached 100 followers, so thank you everyone who has read Not Useless and is reading Dark Wings right now as i continuously update it. The poll on my profile is going to close tomorrow before the end of the day, so if you haven't voted, please vote! Like i always say, review and let me know what you thought of this chapter, as well as what you want to see.

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Response to Reviews:

Tchurch: You're very welcome, and yes, Astrid learned the hard way truly.

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prydain: Thanks so much for the encouragement!

dragonguest:Wow, same here! I'm glad you liked Tuffnut's reaction.

Crow-DarkHeart: I will!

supersandman86: Thanks, i hope you like the new one!

crimson11116: Maybe, maybe not.

Transformers 0: Thanks! You'll get more Astrid later, but not now.

Brenne: She will soon, that's for sure!

NoTearsFalling: Sorry! But it had to be done, is Ruffnut your favorite character?

Zyonzillia: Thanks for the OC request, i hope you liked the way i used him in the story. Sorry i couldn't tell you earlier on how i was planning to use him, i've been busy!

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – Hiccup leaves Berk, but get's captured.**

 **Chapter 2 – Stoick returns to Berk and gets some surprising news. Hiccup reunites with an old friend. An old enemy returns. An escape is in progress.**

 **Chapter 3 – Hiccup reunites with Camicazi and escapes.**

 **Chapter 4- Hiccup tells Camicazi the truth. Hiccup and Camicazi reconnect. Dragon Training continues at Berk.**

 **Chapter 5 – Dragon training continues on Berk. Devastating raid. Stoick has regrets.**

 **Chapter 5.5 - Astrid v Ruffnut**

 **Chapter 6 – The Bog-Burglar Tribe. A mysterious figure on Bog territory.**

Chapter 7 – Negotiations with Big Boobied Bertha.

Chapter 7.5 - Dragon Training Champion

Chapter 8 – Weapon training begins. Hiccup and Camicazi get closer. New friends and romances.

Chapter 8.5 - Snoggletog.

Chapter 9 – 1 year passes and a tribe asks for help. Confessions.

Chapter 10 – Hiccup continues his adventures. New discoveries. Hiccup finds a new tribe.


	8. Negotiations and Trials

Bertha's POV

I breathed in the salty air of the sea as I relaxed in the dead of the night. I was doing last-minute checkups on the new ships that were to be shown to the village tomorrow. The new wood from the Meatheads worked perfectly for the ships. They were smaller, but faster and would be perfect for stealth and rescue missions. I motioned for the ships to be put back with the others and tightened the fur vest I wore, since the cold air was giving me slight chills.

"Okay! The ships are in perfect condition and will be showed tomorrow to everyone! Go home and get some sleep, Gods know I need some, that's for sure." I told the guards and some of the warriors who helped me with the ships. The builders were packing their supplies, but one was staring into the sky with such interest, it caused me to halt my steps. I followed her sight and I saw a black figure in the sky that was slightly highlighted by the moons rays. Night Fury!

"Wait!" I ordered. Everyone halted their steps and turned to look at me, waiting for me to tell them what was so important. I pointed to the night sky and they saw the black figure of the dreaded Night Fury. Their eyes lit up in understanding, but there was a hint of fear they tried to hide, but failed. If we got the Night Fury, we would be praised throughout the archipelago. But if we failed, we would have to endure the dreaded dragon's wrath. I turned back to those who were still here, and they had looks of determination on their faces.

"It looks like it's about to stop, throw some bolas directed at its tail. If it can't fly, it can't get away. A downed dragon, is a dead dragon." I ordered. Bolas were in some of their hands and one warrior had a spear. "When you see an opening, take it!" The Night Fury looked like it was carrying something on its back, but I couldn't tell exactly. The moon shined at the Night Fury, and I saw my daughter in its clutches. Fear filled my body, but I was too late, for the warriors already threw the bolas and hit her instead of the tail.

"NO!" I said too late. The Night Fury dropped at a deadly speed, racing towards Camicazi and caught her, but there was another figure on its back. It was as if the person was riding the dragon, but I immediately dismissed that notion. There was no way someone could ride a dragon. A foolish male warrior threw a spear towards the dragon and it hit the mark, as the Night Fury let out a scream of pain. "You fool! Did you not just hear me say _no_!?" The warrior stepped back, in fear of me. _Good, I'll have his head before tonight ends._ The Night Fury was spiraling out of control and was headed straight towards us. "MOVE!" I yelled out. We got out of the way and we all ran to where the Night Fury was in the dirt.

The sight of the Night Fury wasn't the thing that feared me with dread. But it was Camicazi, who was being held by Hiccup in his arms and looking at the dragon in concern, than anger. I looked at the dragon and saw a saddle on its back before it passed out and turned to the two teens who finally looked up at me. It finally clicked. Hiccup was riding the dragon with Camicazi at nights. I wondered why the pair would sometimes skip dinner at stay out late all night and be tired in the mornings. They were riding a Night Fury together at night for some weeks! But what hurt worse though, was that my daughter betrayed her teachings, training, and especially, _me_ , for a boy and his dragon. The betrayal must've shown, because Camicazi looked at me with such fear in her eyes.

"Surprise?" she squeaked out to me. The warriors and the builders that were still there were shocked as well. They were staring at me, wondering what I was going to do.

"Not one word. Not a whisper, a sound, anything from anyone!" I hissed out. "Someone grab Hiccup and Camicazi and put them under intense guard back at my home. Nobody gets in or out without my permission. Get some chains and put the dragon in a cage. Treat it if you have to, but don't wake it up, unless you want an early death wish. I don't want anyone telling a damn soul about this, if I find out any of you even talked about what just happened here, they'll get their tongue ripped out! If someone asks about the ground, tell them were putting a new well in. Now go!" Everyone was scrambling and doing what they were told. Camicazi was pleading with me and trying to get my attention and Hiccup was calling out for his dragon, but I ignored them both. I grabbed my hair in frustration and silently pleaded with the Gods, to give me strength for what I would have to do.

I was walking back to my home alone of what happened on my mind. Hiccup and Camicazi were riding a dragon for weeks and I didn't notice a damn thing. I was suspicious of Hiccup when I first saw the boy. He just suddenly showed up on my lands without a boat and with Camicazi quickly vouching of his appearance on our territory. Stoick didn't send any letters to me this past year about Hiccup, just about some new weapons that were needed for the assistance of fighting dragons. Even though Stoick was a fool sometimes, he would've noticed his son not being home on Berk. The Night Fury wasn't present in our dragon raids that happened from time to time and now Hiccup was riding it!? There were some pieces to the puzzle that were missing, and I was pretty sure Hiccup had all the answers I needed.

* * *

Hiccup's POV

Camicazi and I were dead silent in the house. We didn't need words, for the fear of getting caught made us mutes for some time. I didn't know how long we were being kept under lock and guard in the house, and it was driving me absolutely insane. I turned to Camicazi and she was frozen. She was like that for some time and despite me forcing some tea in her hands, she showed no movements.

"My mom hates me." She whispered out. She looked me in the eyes and she had a look of defeat in her own.

"She doesn't hate you." I reassured her.

"Oh yes she does." Camicazi said strongly. "You didn't see the look in her eye. You didn't see her face that looked so, betrayed. My mom isn't just my mom, but my best friend. She had never ever looked at me that way in her life, until tonight."

"I don't know – "

"Of course you don't know! You don't have a mother!" She screamed at me until she realized what she said. It didn't really hurt that much to me. I never knew my mother, or had a chance to love her since she was eaten by dragons a few months after I was born. I grabbed her shoulders and shook her out of her self-loathing. "Stop it! I never had any parents. Stoick may have been my dad, but he was never a father to me. My mom is dead and I never knew her, so I don't blame you for what you just said." I could feel her relax on my slight grip on her. "Camiczai, if your mom loves you, she will not abandon or hate you in any way. There is no way Toothless and I can get between you and your mom. She loves you way too much for that." I firmly told her and she slowly sunk to the ground. We could hear footsteps from the hall and the door to Camicazi's room opened slowly. Bertha was in the doorway, and she had a guarded look in her eye with an emotionless mask on her face.

"The guards are all gone and have been ordered not to say one word about what happened tonight. Both of you will go on with your routines for tomorrow until nightfall. You are to come straight home after your day and I will talk to the Council about what happened until we decide to tell the entire village on this matter. Go to bed, and don't even think about leaving this house." Bertha ordered. The or else was left out of what she said, but was in the air. She turned around and left us to ourselves as we heard her footsteps echo down the hall and go into her own room. Camicazi and I looked at each other before I went into my own room and went straight to sleep, not bothering to change into a sleep tunic. For the fear of tomorrow kept me up until late in the night.

* * *

Bertha's POV

I was tapping my foot anxiously, waiting for the Council to come into the Great Hall. I had guards watching Camicazi and Hiccup the whole day. They had reported to me that Hiccup was fidgety in the forge, constantly looking over his shoulder, and on his time off he would stare sadly into the sky. Camicazi was different though. She was overly aggressive in training and snapping at people all day. She was like a black cloud and didn't talk that much to anyone, except Hiccup. Unfortunately, one of the guards had let slip of what happened last night, and there were whispers all over the island. I got severely agitated with that and berated the guard who opened her mouth until she almost peed herself. I dismissed her and immediately found Hiccup and Camicazi. When their day was over, I personally picked them up and returned home and ate dinner with them. It was dead silent between the three of us as Hiccup was nervously looking between Camicazi and me as he ate. Camicazi just muttered half the time and I couldn't look at the pair until this whole matter was resolved. Here I was now, still waiting for the ten council members who were taking their sweet time coming into the Great Hall.

The doors finally opened and the ten members walked inside towards the long table that seated the men and women. The ten members were divided into men and women equally, from all ranks to the fishermen and women to the Generals and Commanders of the warriors and ships. All ten chairs faced me as I sat on my chair looking each and every member in the eye before starting.

"We have a problem." I started. "I'm sure almost all of you have heard the whispers around the island."

"Is it true?" Sigfrid spoke up first. She was one of the best warriors on the island. "That Camicazi and Hiccup were on the back of a Night Fury?"

"Lies." Wade hissed out. He was a fisherman in the village. "Camicazi could not do such a thing."

"And Hiccup can't? We don't know much of that boy anyway." Kerda shot back. She was one of the best healers in the village. "Who knows what secrets he brings with that Night Fury?"

"I say banish the boy and kill the dragon if it's true." Asmund said boldly. He was in command of all the ships in the village. "Be done with both at the drop of a sword."

"My Gods!" Ulrik said in disgust. He was the best male warrior on the island and Valerie's father. "Are we not going to hear the boy out?"

"That boy brought a deadly beast onto our great island. If he controls the Night Fury, he could exact vengeance onto our lands." Faye spoke. She was a midwife on the island.

"That boy has a name and the name is Hiccup." Hayden defended. He was the leather maker on the island. "He has not caused any harm to us or the people we love. Who are we to judge him without hearing him out?"

"And how do we judge someone fairly who has lied to us for weeks?" Dacey spoke. She led the archers on the island when it comes to battle and was the mother of Destin and Dalla. "I do not have any hatred for Hiccup or dislike, but I am wary of someone who just pops up onto our lands carrying more questions than answers."

"The lies have gone on for too long!" Jonah yelled out. He was in charge of the livestock and food supply on the island. "We need to know the truth!"

"And the truth is what we will get." Lana spoke. She was another healer on the island. Everyone started to argue louder and louder, and my head was starting to pound. "Enough!" I yelled out. I looked down from my seat to the Council who were immediately silent at my order.

"The whispers are true. Hiccup and Camicazi were caught riding the Night Fury late last night when I and numerous guards, warriors, and builders found them." Protests started once again, but I silenced them with a glare. "Camicazi will be punished by me, but Hiccup, Hiccup is a whole different situation."

"Camicazi is for you to deal with, that I definitely agree." Ulrik said. "But how is Hiccup a whole different situation?"

"What I did not tell you was that Hiccup is the son of Stoick Haddock, the Chief on Berk of the Hairy Hooligan tribe." Dead silence. Not one member said a word. "I know, so we have to handle this accordingly and to the books. The law is clear that Hiccup should be put to death for sympathizing for a dragon, but I believe that Hiccup should be given a trial."

"Why should we help vote on someone who has lied for us for weeks and taken advantage of the hospitality we have shown him?" Jonah questioned.

"I believe that Hiccup can help us with the dragon raids. If Hiccup can tame one of the most feared dragons in the archipelago, then he can help put an end to the attacks on the village. Even though we are a wealthy lot, the ice will soon set before we know it, and we'll be stuck on our lands fighting dragons till the last man or woman. All of you know that dragons can wipe us all out if they used their full power, I don't need to remind you all about the Black Raid five years ago, do i?" The silence was my answer. "Good, so let's put it to a vote. Hiccup can be executed with his dragon or be given a _fair_ trial where he'll plead his case to us and then decide on his fate in our tribe." Everyone was looking at each other before turning back to me. "All in favor of execution raise your hand." Only Asmund and Faye raised their hands. "All in favor of a trial raise your hand." The remaining members raised their hands eagerly. "Then it's decided, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third will plead his case to us on dragons in the Great Hall, tomorrow afternoon."

* * *

The Council members left the Hall and I ordered the guards to start rearranging the room for the setting of a trial. They were moving furniture and I walked out of the room towards home to tell the two teens of what has transpired, and how Hiccup was lucky he had the Gods in his favor.

I opened the door to my home and saw Hiccup and Camicazi near the hearth drinking tea and talking softly. They turned to me when I cleared my throat to get their attention. They had dark circles under their eyes, which must have been caused from the lack of sleep and worry I must have caused the both of them. "I have news of the Council's decision regarding the both of you." Camicazi and Hiccup looked at each other worriedly before turning their attention to me. "Camicazi, your punishment will be decided by me and me alone." Camicazi visibly relaxed when I spoke.

"What about me?" Hiccup spoke up.

"You are one very lucky boy Hiccup, the Gods must favor you." I started. "When I confirmed the story, some members wanted you and your dragon brought to the chopping block immediately." Hiccup blanched when I told him that and immediately grabbed Camicazi's hand. "But when I told them that you were a Chieftain's son they were speechless." Hiccup slightly relaxed, but had a grimace on his face when I mentioned 'Chieftain's son' that I did not miss. "We decided that you would have a fair trial to plead your case on you and your dragon tomorrow afternoon. I hope you're ready to speak Hiccup; because once you're in that room, there will be no secrets left to hide."

"I guess I better go and get started thinking of what I have to say." Hiccup smiled softly. "Thank you Bertha, and I'm really sorry for lying to you."

"Apology accepted Hiccup." I gave him a reassuring smile. He nodded his head at me and walked up the stairs and went to his room. Camicazi was still downstairs with me and we needed to clear the air so we could get back to some normalcy in our home. "We need to talk." Camicazi sat down on the couch as I made my way to the kitchen and grabbed the biggest fruit tart and some warm milk for us. I placed it on the table in front of her and sat next to her. I grabbed her hands and looked her in her blue eyes that matched mine so deeply.

"When I saw you on that dragon, my heart dropped in my stomach. I thought the Night Fury captured you and my last family member was never to be seen again. But then as the Night Fury came to the ground, and you were in Hiccup's arms, I almost lost it. My daughter, one of the best sword-fighters and dragon killer is riding a dragon. I thought I was going mad! I tried to wrap my head around it all night long. And then I saw, how scared you were of me. My face must have said a lot because you looked like you wanted to be anywhere else, than next to me. But let me tell you this, no matter what you do or what you say, I will always be there by your side." Camicazi's eyes widened and she nodded before a few tears escaped from her eyes. Camicazi was a teenager who kept her emotions in check, even as a child, she barely cried, no matter how many times she got hurt or insulted. I hugged her tightly and waited for her tears to reside before speaking again. A wicked smirk came onto my face and I popped a berry into my mouth before speaking to her again. "So when are you and Hiccup getting together?" Camicazi's face instantly turned as red as the dress I was wearing.

"Mom!" she yelled out in embarrassment.

"I've seen the way you two look at each other." I said. Camicazi groaned and shoved a piece of the tart in her mouth. "You hold onto his hand, and he picks you up when you fall. I can imagine my grandbabies right now." I was laughing as she choked on the tart when I said 'grandbabies'. It was always fun teasing Camicazi.

"Nothing is going on between us."

"I don't believe that." I leaned back and drank my milk slowly. "You always have a light blush on your face when you see him and the way his eyes light up when he sees you come down the stairs each morning." Camicazi was so red; it looked like she was going to pass out from embarrassment. I was laughing too hard and my face was hurting from smiling too hard. "And don't think I haven't noticed you dressing up a bit more than your usual training gear when you're with him."

"I'm begging you, stop!"

"Just one thing, though Cam." She looked at me warily. "No grandbabies until your past twenty."

"Goodnight mom!" Camicazi ran up the stairs into her room as I laughed myself almost to death.

* * *

I was standing in front of the Great Hall's doors with Toothless by my side. Toothless' injury had healed up nicely and he was fed every day from what I was told by Bertha. Toothless had been on guard ever since he came out of his cell when the guards were ordered to let him out. Unfortunately he had to be chained around his neck for the safety of the villagers, since Bertha wanted to reassure the villagers and Council members. A guard had tapped me on my shoulder and motioned for me to enter. Three guards were flanked on each side of me as we were lead inside. The Great Hall had been transformed for a trial. There were stands that started near the door and ended near the Council's seats. It was filled to the brim with villagers and on the next level of the Great Hall, people filled the balconies, eager to see how I was going to end up. The Council seats were a few steps down from Bertha's large Chieftess seat where it stood on the highest seat. Camicazi had a seat next to her mother; it was smaller but still crafted perfectly to show the power in which she held. There was a small platform for me to stand and Toothless wrapped his body around me in reassurance, but my nerves were still present. A side door opened and Council members took their seats where their names were engraved while Bertha and Camicazi came from another door and made their way to their seats before sitting down in unison, permitting everyone else to do the same. Bertha raised her hand and silence instantly came.

"For those who are new to the situation, the boy standing on this podium is a new face to our tribe. His name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, and he was caught with Camicazi riding a dragon." Extreme shock and whispers came from the crowd, but Bertha rose her hand up again to get everyone's attention back on the subject. "Camicazi's punishment would be carried out by me and me alone, but the Council and I have decided to let Hiccup plead his case for himself, and his dragon in accordance to our law and in the sight of the Gods." Bertha clapped her hands twice before looking me dead in the eye. "Let this trial begin!"

"Hiccup." Lana started. "I'm curious of how someone like you came to befriend a dragon, nevertheless the feared Night Fury. You're the son of Chief Stoick, did your father not have any protests to you leaving and coming here with this dragon?"

"I was never anything to Stoick the Vast" I hissed out. The crowd was shocked of my tone towards the way I spoke of my former father. "I can't explain to you anything about Toothless, until I tell you of my past." I looked at Camicazi and she gave me a nod of encouragement.

"Toothless?" Jonah questioned. I smiled faintly as Toothless inclined his head at the mention of his name. "That's his name." I replied. Jonah nodded in understanding and motioned for me to continue. "About two months ago, I was at my former home on the Isle of Berk. For the past fifteen years of my life, I was looked down, bullied, constantly humiliated and berated for being myself. I'm not like the typical Viking teen who has large muscles or can only think of kill or be killed. Instead of fishing or hunting, I preferred searching for trolls and making my own crazy inventions. I had no friends and the only family members I had either ignored or yelled at me. I was alone for almost my entire life, until Toothless came along."

"And how did Toothless come along?" Asmund said.

"It was during a raid one night. I was working in the forge and grabbed my bola launcher and ran to one of the cliffs to capture and bring him to the village where I could gain the love and respect from everyone in the village. I always thought that if I killed a dragon, I could earn my father's love, have friends, get a girlfriend, and much more. When I hit him, and told Stoick, he and the whole village thought I was lying and mocked me for days. I ran out into the woods and followed the trail of where he fell. And then I saw him, tied up and laying there in my trap defenseless and weak. I wanted to cut out his heart and take it to my father, but I didn't."

"Why?" Kerda demanded. "You could've had it all. Glory and riches right there, and you decided not to reach out and grab it. Why?"

"When I saw Toothless, wrapped in the bola, i stared into his eyes. I saw myself and I realized that my actions had unintended consequences."

"And what consequence did Toothless suffer?" Ulrik asked. He was staring at Toothless curiously, looking for some sign of distress. I took his tail and showed the fin to the Council. "When I shot Toothless, I tore off a piece of his fin and he couldn't fly anymore. So I decided to gain his trust and earn his friendship and helped nurse him back to health. I made a prosthetic fin for him to fly, but he can't fly without a rider."

"But you're fifteen, the age where a teen enters training to learn how to kill dragons." Hayden spoke. "How could you stay in training knowing you were learning how to kill a dragon, while befriending one at the same time?" Toothless warbled sadly at me and nudged his head at my chest and I rubbed his head in an affectionate manner. The villagers were looking at me curiously and some of the Council members were shocked at how the dreaded Night Fury was acting like an overgrown puppy towards me. "I couldn't. I almost got a recruit killed and she yelled at me for being weak and not taking training seriously like everyone else. I snapped at everyone right then and there. I knew I wouldn't be able to handle the constant criticism and yelling, so I told everyone off and immediately left with Toothless."

"What a _fool_." Bertha said venomously. Everyone turned to look at her and I was shocked at the barely suppressed rage she was trying to hide. "Stoick practically _disowned_ you from the minute you were born because you didn't fit the _mold_ of Vikings. The whole village doesn't fit the bill for the typical mold for Vikings! There are some Vikings here who prefer not to fight or kill a dragon, but that doesn't mean we throw you away or make your life hell! If I ever see Stoick again, I'll do more than castrate that cold-hearted ass of a man who couldn't love his own child." Villagers were cheering from the stands and agreeing with her. She looked at me, but not with pity, but determination. "Continue Hiccup."

"I spent almost two weeks on my own with Toothless and later got captured by Alvin and his followers." There were some hisses and curses in the crowds when I mentioned Alvin. "I was jailed with Camicazi and we eventually broke out and came here. Believe me; Camicazi was not happy either when she had to ride Toothless back to the cave where I was staying. She practically screamed her head off during the flight, I'm pretty sure my hearing is still coming back to normal." Camicazi blushed a bit as some laughter came from the crowds and Bertha was trying to fight a smile off her face, but failed to do so. "Camicazi and I hid Toothless in the forest for fear of being discovered. I could've just dropped her off here and left, but I stayed to help."

"Help, how?" Sigfrid asked. "I'm slightly wary of someone who lied for weeks and knows most of the islands secrets and knowledge. How do we know you won't go to our enemies and speak of what you seen here?

"I would _never_." I was slightly irked by this woman. Toothless growled slightly at her and she looked slightly scared. "I would never betray the first group of people that has showed me love in a matter of weeks. The minute I came onto this island, I wasn't looked down or judged because of my small size or lack of muscles. I made friends who immediately befriended me because they actually cared." I looked up and caught sight of the gang; they were all there cheering me on to fight for what I believe on. I turned back and looked Sigfrid dead in the eye. "I found a mother figure that has tended to my needs and showed me what it's like to be cared for." Bertha had smiled widely at what I said. "And I reunited with my best friend who has showed me love exists in more ways than one." Camicazi blushed hard at my words but still smiled for my commitment to her. "Yeah, Hiccup!" Destin yelled from one of the top levels in the Great Hall. He was giving me not so subtle thumbs up while the others either laughed or tried to shut him up from his outburst. There were some snickers in the crowds while Bertha was giggling softly into her hand.

"So how can you help us, Hiccup?" Bertha said, putting a serious tone into her voice.

"Dragons." I said. "They're not our enemies, we can befriend them and work side by side, instead of against each other. If you let me and Toothless live, I can show everyone on how dragons can be our allies instead of your enemies."

"You're asking a lot, you do know that Hiccup?" Asmund spoke. "There has been so much bloodshed over three hundred years between Vikings and dragons, you can't just erase it in a day or two. I have watched people I love die in front of me or in extreme agony. Give me one reason why I should befriend a dragon."

"Careful Asmund. . ."Bertha warned. "No, I want to answer him." Bertha nodded, permitting me to continue. "No more death. You won't have to look over your shoulder every minute wondering if a dragon is going to attack. You won't have to watch the people you love die anymore or have a rage that burns in you to kill. If you let me do this, you can wake up safely in the morning knowing that future generations of Bogs won't have to see such horror or bloodshed in the future."

Asmund took in my words deeply. He didn't look at me yet, but scanned his grey eyes across the room and looked at every child and teenager in the stands or balconies before turning back to me. "I wanted you and your dragon dead when I first heard of what you did." Toothless growled more towards Asmund, but he didn't seem to flinch or be scared of him at all. "But from how I see Toothless is eager to rip my throat out for threatening you, I say why not, let the boy teach us this way of dragon riding and such."

"You called him Toothless." I said cheekily.

"Don't get used to it Hiccup." I smiled at his words. The Council looked at me before turning back to Bertha.

"If we learn the ways of dragon riding and stop killing dragons, will you learn the ways of being a Bog?" Bertha asked. "Weapon training, burglary, and stealth? You can stay as long as you want with us and we won't ever try to stop you if you wanted to leave at a moment's notice."

"Of course." I nodded immediately. My heart was beating in my chest. I locked eyes with Camicazi, and she didn't waver from my sight. This was it, this was my final judgment on whether if I would live or die with Toothless.

"My council, I think we're all in agreement of what is to be done." All ten members nodded in unison and the room instantly quieted. Bertha stood from her seat and looked me dead in the eye. "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, you are hereby free and clear of all charges and will be permitted to stay on the island with your dragon, on the agreement of you teaching us dragon riding and for you to be taught in the way of a Bog-Burglar." I almost cried from her words. Everyone in the stands and balconies were cheering thunderously. The gang was making the most noise, and even Palva was jumping, despite not showing that much emotion all the time. "Now someone take the damn chains off of Toothless and get me the builders. We have a lot of remodeling to do in a few short months."

Camicazi had run down from her seat and immediately pounced on me. Toothless was released from his chains immediately. He looked hesitant with all of the people that were trying to get a look at him, but instantly relaxed when he saw there was no harm done to me at all. He curled himself around our legs and we laughed at his affection. Camicazi quickly punched me, but I didn't complain, for it was how she showed affection.

"You're not going to stop punching me anytime soon, are you?" I asked. "Nope, and neither is this." She grabbed me and pulled me in for a quick kiss on my mouth before releasing me. Toothless was snickering and Camicazi blushed madly at her actions. Bertha was giving me a suggestive hand signal while Vinnie and Sage were waving from one of the balconies. The gang had run down from the balcony earlier, and stood a few feet away in awe of what just happened. For the first time ever, I was finally home.

* * *

A/N: Whew! A lot of things happened in this chapter. You got to see Bertha's reaction from Hiccup and Camicazi's ride, Camicazi and Bertha's relationship, Hiccup's trial and the blossoming of Hiccup and Camicazi's relationship. This took forever, and i am so happy to publish this tonight. I wanted to show you Bertha and Camicazi's relationship, and i decided to let you view that by getting into Bertha's head and seeing Camicazi's reaction when Bertha doesn't immediately acknowledge her. My favorite part when i wrote this, was Hiccup's trial. You get to see Hiccup fight for what he believes in and go head to head with the Council when he defends his actions and Toothless. I don't have much to say cause i am feeling really sleepy so i will address questions and comments in an author's note tomorrow with a big sneak peek so look forward to that tomorrow.


	9. Dragon Training Champion

Stoick's POV

It was the day where Gothi would choose the Dragon Training Champion after a month of hard work and training. It was between Snotlout and Tuffnut now, since Astrid's injury was not something I want to risk. For if a recruit died, it would be one less warrior to defend Berk and even though the ice was slowly starting to form, dragons would still attack no matter what. Her rant of wanting to participate still gave me a slight headache after telling her she couldn't compete in the final leg of training, despite her already killing a dragon a few days earlier. Those winged beasts are causing trouble every second, and I would not stop until they are all wiped out. Especially that four winged devil that took my Valka. It's been fifteen years since she bore Hiccup and was taken by that damn dragon, and I was not going to let that happen to anyone else on this island. I would look up to the sky every night since she was taken and plead to the Gods to bring her back, but she never returned.

The villagers were completely in a joyous mood, for one of the few youths on Berk would finally be killing their first dragon. There were banners hung up over the Kill Ring and the cooks were preparing for the great feast that was to be held at the end of the day. The sun was shining bright and gave slight warmth to the village, despite the chill of the winter winds. The snow hasn't started yet, but the chill of the air and the ice slowly starting to form in the sea, showed that winter was coming. Homes had been rebuilt, but some supplies were running low. I would need to talk to some of the surrounding Chiefs and Chieftess' about trading before I lost communication with them when winter hits.

Everyone had started to make their way to the arena and lined themselves against the railing, waiting for Gothi, Gobber and I to proceed with the final stage of dragon training this afternoon. As I made my way to my seat, I got a few nods of respect and bows from the villagers who were eager to see me and the student at this year's killing of the Monstrous Nightmare. Spitelout was sitting next to my seat, in his own chair that resembled my own. It wasn't as decorated or lavish since I was Chief, but it showed that the Jorgenson family would be right there to snatch my throne when the chance would come. I gave a nod to my brother in greeting, but he just rolled his eyes in contempt and stared down at the floor of the Kill Ring. I shook my head and clapped my hands to get the attention of the villagers who were gathered here today for the main event.

"Today is the day, where one of the three men here in the Kill Ring will face off to get the honor of killing his first dragon, in front of the entire village. But this dragon isn't some simple Terror or Gronckle but a Monstrous Nightmare!" Cheers rose from the surrounding crowd. "So who will have the honor of killing it?" Cheers rose once again and Gobber brought the boys out and stood in the middle, waiting for Gothi to make her decision. The boys had a various amount of reactions to being brought out. Fishlegs, smiled slightly but shook every now and then. Tuffnut, looked angry and had a dark look in his eyes. I couldn't blame the boy; he almost watched his twin die right in front of him and probably lost a part of himself that night. Snotlout though, showed no fear. He looked as proud as any young warrior going into the field of battle. He had his war hammer in his hand and smiled smugly to the crowd. He flashed a grin at his father, and my brother returned it with a grin identical to his own son's.

"Snotlout, Snotlout, OY, OY, OY!" Spitelout roared out. I rolled my eyes at that ridiculous chant my brother had made for his son. The first time he spoke it, he never stopped. Anytime Snotlout did something that was deemed worthy in Spitelout's eyes, he would yell out that damn chant. My brother sent me a cocky smirk, which I ignored and motioned for Gothi to make her choice. She moved to the railing and waited for Gobber to raise his hands above the boys' heads. The crowd instantly quieted and Gobber raised his good hand over Fishlegs' head. Gothi shook her head, as she believed that Fishlegs wasn't ready to kill the dragon yet.

"That was rather obvious." Spitelout said. "There's no way that the Ingerman boy would be able to kill a dragon, yet alone a Monstrous Nightmare."

What makes you think that?" I demanded. "That boy has the largest brain on the island and knows every little fact about every dragon we know of now." I glared at my brother at his usual arrogance for his bias towards anyone who didn't meet his expectations on dragon killing.

"You and I both know that if Fishlegs was in battle with Outcasts or Berserkers, he would be killed instantly. That bring brain of his would be nothing against a bloody sword in the sounds of battle."

"What is wrong with you?" I looked at my brother as if he was mad. "Do you care that little for his intelligence?"

"I'm not insulting his intelligence Stoick, it could be used to plan raids or battle plans." Spitelout countered. "I'm just saying that someone like him isn't useful in the field of battle, keep the boy as far away from it so we don't have to see any more loss on Berk. If you have the strength to protect the people you love, and choose not to use it you practically killed everyone by not helping."

I glared at my brother and Gobber moved his hand toward Tuffnut's head and Gothi shook her head. My eyes widened at that. Tuffnut could give Snotlout a run for his money. He was fast, sneaky, and wielded his spear like it was a part of him. He could trick anyone and was a master at hiding when it came to trouble; the only disadvantage was that he was too reckless most of the time. I could feel Spitelout's face break out in a full out smile as Gobber moved his hand above Snotlout's head and Gothi nodded.

"YES!" Spitelout jumped out of his seat and pumped his fists repeatedly in the air. He looked like a fool, but I would be doing the same thing if Hiccup was the one who got chosen to kill the Monstrous Nightmare. My eyes darkened as I thought of my dead son. Sure, Hiccup and I never communicated well and barely spoke, but he was still my son. There was no trace of him on the island, Gobber had searched the entire forge and I looked through every corner at home, but nothing left of him was there. I looked through the forests and cliffs of the whole island and I couldn't find a damn thing. The crowd was cheering and Snotlout was beaming with pride. Gobber and the boys left the arena and Snotlout was left to wait for the Monstrous Nightmare gate to open and Spitelout turned back to me and gave me a mocking grin.

"Jealous, dear brother?" Spitelout sat back down at his seat and was practically mocking me. I sneered at him, and that just seemed to make him even happier. My discomfort was always something that made him happy.

"No." I bluntly said. "Why should I be?"

"Maybe, because my boy is something that my former nephew would never be."

"Arrogant, prideful, and vain?" I smirked at his show of anger that was threatening to burst.

"Strong, committed, and Viking-like." Spitelout's anger was going to burst, but he quickly controlled his emotions and had a dark look that came onto his face. My heart slightly picked up pace, since the look that crossed on my brother's face always followed with some cruel comment. "It's such a sad thing that Hiccup died without a trace and that your failure as a father was never being able to love him."

"You cruel _bastard_ of a brother." I was starting to see red and the tension between us was shown as a few villagers backed away from us in fear or dared to stay near to hear what we were arguing about. Spitelout gave me his most dark look and his hands clenched on the armrests of his chair. He clutched his chair so tightly, that some cracks were starting to come from it.

"Now you finally know what it's like to be able to have everything and nothing at the same time." Spitelout stared me down and I held his stare until Gothi had come back to our sides and smacked us from behind with her staff. We turned to her in unison and she gave us a dark glare.

"Stop fighting like you are children over a last piece of cake." Gothi demanded. "You're grown men and you need to stop arguing over the past and look forward to the future." Spitelout and I huffed and turned back to the arena, waiting for Snotlout to make his first kill. What Spitelout said was wrong, but at the same time I should have never said the word bastard. Our relations was something that always haunted him and no matter how much he tried to forget, the last name Jorgenson and not Haddock would always be a constant reminder of him being a bastard due to my father's indiscretions. Apparently my father had seduced Spitelout's mother after my mother and him had gotten into a heated fight that almost led them to a divorce. He slept with Spitelout's mother and gotten her pregnant, and was going to leave my mom for her until he found out she was pregnant. The both of us were born just a few weeks apart and he was dubbed a bastard because of what my father did. The Jorgenson family would inherit the Chieftain throne, if I or my family could not fulfill the duties, or if I did not have any heirs. With Hiccup supposedly dead, Snotlout would inherit the throne as well as his future children.

I sighed out and motioned for the cage of the Monstrous Nightmare to be opened. The crank was pulled and the dragon immediately popped out of his cage, covered in fire and hissing deadly. It moved around the entire arena and spewed fire into the crowd before falling back down to stare at Snotlout who didn't show any signs of fear. He clutched his war hammer and stood his ground and stared defiantly at the Nightmare. The Nightmare growled and shot fire at Snotlout, but he quickly dodged it. He grabbed a shield and hurled it at the dragon. It caught the shield in its massive mouth and bit down and spit it out. Fire came out of its mouth again and Snotlout threw a dagger that he hid into the Nightmare's mouth. It quickly choked but got it out before it could do any damage to itself. It was even angrier than before and charged at Snotlout. He ran and dodged all of the attacks until the Nightmare opened its jaws to try and bite him. He raised his foot to kick the dragon and forced himself upon its mouth. The Nightmare swung violently to get Snotlout off but he held on tightly. The Nightmare suddenly stopped, which caused Snotlout to loosen his grip, but that was a mistake. It swung Snotlout so hard, he flew and landed against the cold stone wall of the arena. There was a sick crack from him and I silently pleaded that he would not die right then and there. I turned to Spitelout but he was so focused on the fight, he didn't feel me place a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Spitelout's eyes were full of anger, but showed some hints of fear and sadness.

Thankfully, Snotlout was slammed near the weapons rack and got up slowly, but with determination. The Nightmare charged at Snotlout, ready to blow fire, but Snotlout quickly thought of a new strategy. He grabbed a spear and hurled it at the Nightmare, and it landed in its right eye. It roared out in pain and frustration, and Snotlout grinned wickedly. He picked up his war hammer and rushed toward the dragon. By the time the Nightmare got the spear out of its eye, it was too late. Snotlout heaved his hammer and slammed it on the Nightmare's skull with a crack. It stilled immediately and Snotlout took a knife and plunged it into its heart. The blood oozed out and got even heavier as Snotlout cut out its heart and raised it in the air with pride. He was shaking slightly and reveled in the crowds' cheers and his father's smile.

I knew right then and there, what Spitelout meant about having everything and nothing at the same time. I had the highest honor of being a Chief of the Hairy Hooligans, power that was unquestioned, riches that were all mine, but with Valka being taken and Hiccup gone, it was nothing. My whole family was gone and I was going to die with no one's love and Hiccup's hatred of me and the entire village. I could feel the stinging of tears, but I quickly crushed them and got up to look at my nephew who was being cheered by the villagers for his victory on killing the Monstrous Nightmare. I clapped my hands and got everyone's attention.

"Tonight we feast for my nephew's first kill of the Monstrous Nightmare, for he will be known for one of the youths that took on the Monstrous Nightmare and killed it with the skill any Viking teenager should have! Congrats, my brave nephew, you've earned your place as a true Viking." Snotlout looked more proud than he ever had before. His past victories of Thawfest were nothing, compared to the honor of killing his first dragon. Spitelout had ran down and was with Snotlout instantly as he hoisted him up on his shoulders and led him out of the Kill Ring with the crowd following them. Once everything died down, Gobber had come up to me and sat in Spitelout's chair, staring at me warily.

"Stoick, you're quiet." He pointed out.

"And?" I kept my focus on the stone cold floor of the arena, trying to shut Gobber out.

"You're never quiet. The only time you've ever been quiet was when Valka was taken all those years ago." I turned to him and took my helmet off and gave it to him to hold.

"She's gone, and I know that I'll never get her back. That helmet and the other one I intended to give to Hiccup are the last pieces I have of her. I have memories, but I can barely remember her voice or sarcastic jokes to anything I did. Some of her clothes and letters to me are boxed up and buried in the attic because I can't stand looking at them without losing it. Now Hiccup, has disappeared without a trace and despised me for years, and I never noticed a thing. I saw the bruises the kids gave him in the past, but I always told him to 'toughen up and take it as a real Viking' because Vikings always have to grow up as fast as possible to fight dragons. In a few years, Snotlout will take the throne and all the responsibilities of a Chief, while I retire to a cold and empty house with no love. I thought of Hiccup down there killing the Nightmare in Snotlout's place. When he was born, I knew he was going to be the strongest of them all. But I was left with a boy that hated me because I am a cruel and heartless father."

Gobber didn't say anything. He held my helmet, and before I knew it, he swung it at the back of my head and threw it at me, which I caught. I glared harshly at him, and he just shrugged at me. "You were a bad father, Stoick. You didn't show him the love he needed and the encouragement he craved from you, and just shoved him to the forge the minute he knew right from wrong. I would tell you what Hiccup has told me, but that would be like betraying him, so I'm not going to say anything. But what I am going to tell you though, is that you can still try and make it up to him. When winter is over, send out search parties immediately. Check the neighboring tribes and ask if they've seen him. Put every resource Berk can use into finding Hiccup, because I know that boy isn't dead, he's too smart to die on his own. You won't be able to make up for fifteen years of failed parenting, but if you can find him and let him know how much you truly care for him, there might be a chance for the both of you. But Hiccup will have words for you, that's for sure."

"Do you really think so?"

"Of course!" Gobber laughed at me. "When have I ever been wrong?"

"Don't get me started Gobber." He laughed at that and got up to head to the forge, I followed him since I needed to clear my head. As we were getting closer, Sven and Mulch had run up to us. They had a look of worry mixed with anger on their faces.

"What's the matter you guys? Is something wrong with the sheep or fish?" Sven and Mulch looked at each other before turning back to me. Gobber stayed by my side and looked slightly uncomfortable.

"When I was out in the water to catch a few more fish, I saw a ship approaching towards me. When I got a look at the sail, they had Outcast symbols on it." Mulch told me.

"The ship should be here in a matter of minutes." Sven warned.

"What is Alvin doing here?" Gobber questioned. He looked at me and the three men were awaiting a response from me.

"Alvin's not a fool, he's coming here for a reason, and I just don't know what it is. Well let's find out what he wants." I spoke. We walked fast towards the docks, and by the time we got there, Alvin's ship had docked. It was just one ship and Alvin had walked off with a handful of his Outcast lackeys. He brushed himself off and turned to me with a cruel smile.

"Stoick, how nice of you to welcome us to Berk. I didn't think you Hooligans would've came to see me, I thought I would've been met with guards." He spoke.

"Well how unfortunate that you have me to welcome you, it's such a shame that you couldn't have been met with the guards. I'm sure they would've been delighted to put you down, in a house to rest, of course. What are you doing here Alvin?"

"Can't an old friend visit when he's in need of help? Now where is that Hairy Hooligan hospitality I've heard so much about? It would be such a shame if anything happened to me or my men, when we've come here bearing no ill will. We wouldn't want a war to start would we? We both know you have your hands full fighting dragons, it shows." Alvin motioned to the homes that were still in repair from the last dragon attack and the few fishermen who were bringing in a meager supply of fish.

"Of course not, a war with the Outcasts and Hairy Hooligans is the last thing I have on my mind. Judging from how your ship looks, it's in desperate need of repair. Why didn't you stop by the Meatheads or Bog Burglars, or even the Berserkers for repairs?"

"Like I said, I wanted to visit an old friend." He stared me down and dared me to make a refusal. Alvin was a former resident of Berk and knew the layout of the whole island. He knew our weaknesses and strengths and knows that we're in no condition for a war right now with the recent attack from the dragons. I would have to swallow my pride and let his ship be repaired and invite him for the day and night to stay.

"Of course." I said. I could feel Mulch, Sven, and Gobber's stares at me as I invited the Outcasts to reside in Berk for the whole day and night. "Mulch and Sven will show you to one of the empty homes reserved for guests. We have a party tonight for my nephew who completed and killed his first dragon in training earlier today; it would please me if you decided to attend."

"I believe we will." Alvin had started to walk along with his lackeys as Sven and Mulch moved to show them where they were staying for the day. Gobber had stood by my side and didn't say anything until Alvin and his lackeys moved out of earshot.

"We can't take any risks. Alvin knows Berk too well and I have a feeling he's here for another purpose then just some repairs for his ship." I told Gobber. He nodded and started to make his way to the forge, making new weapons and repairs for any upcoming attacks by any dragons, or Outcasts. As I started to make my way back home to get ready for the celebration tonight, I knew that Alvin was going to drop a bomb that was going to change everything, sooner or later.

* * *

Fishlegs' POV

"Snotlout's doing fine now Ruff, his left arm is broken pretty bad and he has a slight limp, but he's great. He got to kill the dragon and there's a huge feast tonight." I told Ruffnut. Tuffnut and I made our way back to his house to tell Ruffnut about Snotlout's kill. She was still immobile and couldn't walk without extreme pains so she stayed and waited for us to tell her about the fight.

"I wish I had a broken arm and a damn limp, than this." She gestured to her wound. It still looked bad and didn't show any sign of improving immediately, it would take time for her to get back on her feet to walk, run, fight, and do anything she did before the accident.

"Sorry Ruff, I didn't mean to, you know." I said awkwardly. I scratched the back of my head and Ruffnut just laughed at me while I was trying not to feel like a fool about her injury.

"Don't worry about it; it's not your fault that I ended up like this. When I can move, I'm taking my spear and shoving it up Astrid's ass. She won't be able to walk straight after I'm done with her."

"Ruffnut!" I yelled out. Tuffnut was just laughing and popping berries into his mouth as he watched us. He was just leaning back in a chair and popping the berries into his mouth just like it was any day and Ruffnut wasn't immobile.

"Dude, let her have her fun. Astrid's gonna get it when Ruffnut can run again. I'm gonna be right there cheering her on when that happens. Anyway, did you hear that Alvin's on Berk, he's coming tonight to Snotlout's party?" Tuffnut spoke.

"I obviously didn't hear anything idiot. Being cooped up in this room makes me not hear gossip stupid!" Ruffnut yelled at her brother.

"I was talking to Fishlegs muttonhead!" The twins were starting to argue and I silently laughed to myself as I watched the both of them. Tuffnut was irritable and lashed out at everyone since Ruffnut got hurt. It was nice seeing them back together and arguing, as if nothing ever happened. I tuned them out as I thought of the celebration tonight that was supposed to be one of the biggest parties that Berk has ever seen.

"How do you think Hiccup got off of Berk?" I asked them suddenly. The twins stopped arguing and looked at me like I was crazy. I was stuck on how Hiccup disappeared without a trace and nobody seemed to care and just moved on with their lives as if nothing happened at all. Some people thought the twins were reckless fools who played around too much, but they don't realize that they are the two most dangerous people I've ever seen. Sometimes, they didn't need to speak; they knew each other's movements and thoughts without verbally speaking half the time. Ruff and Tuff were looking at each other, before they turned back to me.

"Why do you care Fishlegs?" Ruffnut asked me. "He's gone and gone for good. Stop worrying about it."

"Yeah, Hiccup's probably never coming back to Berk after what he said to us." Tuffnut spoke.

"Don't you care at all?" I said. "Hiccup could probably be dead after he left."

"Hiccup has never been our friend, man. He was always a bother and caused trouble for all of us every single day."

"It's because he tried to fit in but you guys never let him. You always followed Snotlout around and did what he said." I argued.

"First of all, we're no one's followers. Get that into that big brain of yours Fish, we just love pulling pranks and listened to some of Snotlout's ideas. Don't bitch to me or Tuff cause Hiccup couldn't handle it." Ruffnut snarled at me. She was getting angry and I could tell she wanted to slap me from the way her hand was shaking, but Tuffnut quickly held her hands to prevent her from doing so.

"You can't tell me that some of your pranks weren't cruel. You put eels in buckets and threw them at him and he didn't leave his house, in fear of flying eels for almost a month."

"We were six!" Tuffnut yelled.

"Or when you tricked him into following you into the forest late at night and there was a big black bear that chased him down until his dad found him and killed the animal. Hiccup got yelled at and refused to wear furs for a month during winter because he was in fear of anything that reminded him of the bear."

"We were ten!" Ruffnut argued.

"Or the time you guys stole his clothes when he decided to go for a midnight swim. He was naked and the only thing covering him was a shield. He ran through the village and bumped into Astrid who humiliated him the next day just for running in to her! And that was just last year! You have to know that would've scarred him someway one day!" I knew the twins played pranks, everyone in the village was victim to them no matter what, but they should know that they probably damaged Hiccup from all those cruel pranks. The room had turned tense and the twins had hard looks on their faces. They avoided my stare and looked at each other. Ruffnut shifted her body to get a better look at me and she sucked in a breath of pain before Tuffnut helped her get into the position she wanted. Ruffnut looked at me before speaking again.

"You're right, maybe we did take our pranks a bit too far. But we were never Snotlout's lackeys; we do our own thing at our own pace. And plus, you and I know that there's not that many teens in the village to hang out or talk to, so we all stick together no matter what. We don't know how Hiccup got off the island and I'm pretty sure no one ever will. The only reason why you're so attached to Hiccup is because you tried to be his friend when we were kids, if that never happened, you would've never even cared. Now you got to go, I have to get my dressings changed now and it's not a pretty sight. I'm pretty sure you'll vomit after looking at it. Go get mom Tuff." Ruffnut spoke.

I got up and left after that and made my way down to my house, which was just a few doors down from the Thorston home. I made my way up to my room which was messy with scrolls, books, and notes about dragons and the workings of Berk. I was happy that the twins finally realized that they may have took their pranks a bit too far, but I was wondering if Ruffnut was right about me being attached to Hiccup because I tried to befriend him when we were kids. My head started to pound from my extreme thinking, so I put my head into my hands, shutting out any noise or thoughts about Hiccup, for now.

* * *

 _Night_

Stoick's POV

The Great Hall was packed and Snotlout was even more arrogant than usual. He was sitting at the high table bragging about his fight with the Nightmare to anyone who would listen and not even the strong ale I was drinking could tune out his continuous speech.

"I wasn't scared at all. Some people may be, but I wasn't. The Nightmare was too stupid to realize what I was going to do after I blinded it. It wasn't much and I would totally go against another Nightmare just for the fun of it. First a Nightmare, next up the Night Fury!" he boasted out. Those who surrounded him laughed and cheered him on to speak even more. I rolled my eyes and got out of my seat and moved around to see the festivities. Everyone was dancing, drinking, eating, or congratulating Snotlout for his kill. I was glad that the party was going off without a hitch, though I wished that Gothi chose the Thorston boy, at least he wouldn't be too arrogant about his kill and give me a headache about the damn Nightmare. Suprisingly, the whole Thorston family was here, including Ruffnut who was on her stomach on a bench next to her mother. She looked irritated, but tried to relax under everyone's stares. Her twin was sneaking some of the strong ale from the barrels, but I ignored it. The Thorston family needed all the hope and fun they could get with Ruffnut's condition.

Other families were enjoying the party and I noticed the Ingermans who were dancing it up. Iona and Evan Ingerman were dancing along with the crowd and Fishlegs was speaking to the twins nervously. He was wringing his hands and the twins looked a bit guilty, which surprised me since the twins never seemed to show guilt after any of their actions. Tuffnut had returned with three pitchers of ale and offered one to Fishlegs as a peace offering possibly. He seemed relieved to take it and sat across from the twins and spoke as Tuffnut helped Ruffnut to her drink. What I was shocked though the most was not seeing Astrid or her mother. Astrid had been avoiding the other teens and her mother and her had been arguing so loud one night, that it woke half the village up. It must be hard for the Hofferson family, since the Thorston and Ingerman families were so close and turned on them after Ruffnut's accident. I shook my head at the drama and moved to Gobber who was drinking at the bar alone. I immediately sat next to him and he pushed a large mug of ale to me.

"Enjoying your nephew Stoick?" Gobber smiled at me. I rolled my eyes at him and just shook my head.

"I was hoping Gothi chose Tuffnut, but now I have to listen to my nephew talk on and on about his damn dragon kill."

"If you think that's gonna be bad, wait until he becomes Chief. You'll never hear the end of it when that day comes."

"Gods save us." We spoke in unison. We knew how Snotlout could get when he won or was rewarded anything.

"So where is Alvin, is he lurking in the shadows or hiding out in his guest home?"

"Well, he's – speak of the devil." I turned around to the doors and saw Alvin and his lackeys strolling inside as if they owned the place. They were coming straight towards me and the hall instantly quieted. He had a sick smile on his face and a slight bounce to his step. He grabbed a tray of ale and passed it out to his lackeys. He plopped down on the seat next to me and I was instantly on guard. Everyone was staring at me and was listening to whatever conversation we were going to have.

"Congrats to your nephew who killed his first dragon. A Nightmare, I heard. I remember back in the day how you were so giddy over your first kill. First it was a Gronckle, then a few Nadders, and then you got your Nightmare. You were running around like it was the last day of your life with so much cheer." He spoke. He sipped his ale and smiled smugly to me.

"Yes, my nephew did a great thing. He killed his dragon like any other Viking should do." I spoke bluntly. "Why are you here Alvin?"

"Like I said, I wanted to visit you, my dear old friend." I showed no emotion to his words and I just blinked at him while he drank his ale. He put it down and put his hand on my shoulder like we were the best of friends, but that was a long time ago. I removed his hand he just continued smirking proudly. I could feel everyone's stares and didn't need to turn around to see what their faces looked like. I could see Gobber giving Alvin a glare and my brother staring him down without any fear, because Alvin was just that hated by everyone on Berk.

"What are you doing here Alvin?" my voice was as cold as steel. "I'm not going to ask again."

"Fine, I'll tell you." He spoke. "I ran into a little problem and captured it. That girl is as crazy as her mother, that's for sure. But then as we were going to head back home, a storm threw us off course. We found a dragon and a little runt. They were both damaged and I took them in out of the goodness of my heart." There were scoffs and some hisses in the crowd as everyone was listening to Alvin's story.

"So let me get this straight Alvin." I spoke. "You came all this way to Berk because you captured a dragon and its runt after a storm and picked up a problem as well. What sense does that make?"

"You didn't let me finish, old friend." Alvin said. "I may have lost the dragon that carried its runt, but the problem was in form of a small girl who is the current and sole heir to the Bog Burglar tribe."

"Camicazi the Crazed?" I said incredulously. "What in Thor's name were you doing with Bertha's heir?"

"Well what I was planning to do doesn't matter anymore with her; she's gone with that dragon and runt. The runt though was the extreme surprise. I never saw it coming, but I'll tell you everything before I leave tomorrow morning. I just wanted to congratulate your nephew." He turned to the direction where Spitelout and Snotlout were and gave them a cruel smirk. "Such a shame boy, you won't be sitting on that throne in a few years since your rival is still out there in the world. Well I have to go and retire now, come on men, let's get a good night sleep; we have quite a trip tomorrow." Alvin got up as quickly as he came, and left the Great Hall with his lackeys to retire for the night. Everyone was still talking about Alvin's strange and cryptic tale, but quickly went back to celebrating Snotlout. I turned back to Gobber and I could tell he was trying to make sense of what Alvin just told me and all of Berk.

 _What does Camicazi the Crazed have in common with a dragon and its runt?_

* * *

Fishlegs POV

 _That was strange. What could Alvin want with us, or mainly Chief Stoick that caused him to sail towards Berk?_ I shook my head and left out the Great Hall after that strange fiasco. I wondered if it had anything to do with Hiccup. It's been about two months since Hiccup disappeared from Berk. It felt strange, that he was gone and something felt missing every time I stepped outside. We used to be friends, but I heard all the whispers from adults on how Hiccup would never rise to be the great Viking he should be like Stoick, so I distanced myself from him and stopped talking to him. I didn't know how it would affect him, but until I did, it was too late. Apparently I was Hiccup's shield until I stopped hanging out with him, if I stayed by his side, he wouldn't have had bruises on his body that he tried to hide, be in fear of Snotlout and the twins, and wouldn't cringe every time he saw Astrid. Dragon Training had finished and the party was still going on in the Great Hall celebrating Snotlout's victory. I wasn't jealous from his achievement at all, I knew I wasn't the best fighter and preferred to stick my head in a book than have a sword in my hand. He may have been a bit bold and reckless at times, but he was a great warrior and deserved the attention being showered on him.

I was taking a breather from the festivities and was taking a walk in the woods. Just walking around cleared my head and I suddenly found myself in a deeper part of the words, that I never ventured into before. The rays from the moonlight gave some light, but not enough for my sight to be improved. As I turned around, I walked into a tree that was bent over and almost uprooted from the ground. I rubbed my head and looked at the surrounding tress as well, and noticed they were all damaged as well. As if something crashed through here. Despite the warning bells going off in my head, I walked deeper into the woods. The ground was destroyed and trees were broken or barely holding together. Something reflected in the light, and I grabbed the black object, studying its size, shape, and color. It was a dragon scale, a large black scale that was as long as my index finger. _It couldn't be…_ I was staring to walk faster in the night and picked up more scales on the way. As I heaved myself over the log blocking my path, I saw a bola that was on the ground. When I picked it up, I saw that it was cut by something sharp, and there were some pieces of green fabric caught on some bushes.

And then I realized where I was and remembered Hiccup's words from two months ago.

 _"I had a very clear shot. It went down, just off Raven Point."_

Oh my Gods.

 _"Okay, but I hit a Night Fury."_

Hiccup wasn't lying at all. He did it, he actually did it. He hit the Night Fury. There was a cove at the bottom from where I was standing. I climbed down there from the rocks and saw the claw marks on the walls. I used my hand to feel the deep slashes the Night Fury made on the rocks of the cove. I started to walk around the cove until my foot crunched under something. It was a stick of charcoal and I looked around for something more. There were black scales surrounding the whole cove, and if you looked closely on the ground, there were faint tracks of footsteps. There were lines drawn rigorously on the ground with a stick in the middle. I picked it up and it was covered in slobber. Night Fury saliva. There was another stick next to a small rock, small enough for someone to sit on. I looked on the ground and saw a drawing of the Night Fury.

There were pieces of metal on the ground, and some tools as well. When I saw the tools, I moved some rocks around and looked through the small bushes. My hand came in contact with a piece of paper and I unfolded it. There were drawings of the Night Fury in such detail; it was like it was coming off the paper. When I flipped it over, there were sketches of a tail and notes in Hiccup's handwriting. I dropped the paper in shock as all the pieces finally came together.

Hiccup shot down the Night Fury that night and freed it. The tools must have been from the forge and when he shot it down, he must have made a makeshift tail fin to compensate the destroyed one. He disappeared after training all day and came back late at night. Hiccup made a fin for the Night Fury to fly; if it can fly it can get away. Hiccup must've left with the Night Fury that must be how he got off of Berk with nobody knowing. My knees dropped to the ground as I realized the truth.

Hiccup rode the Night Fury out of Berk.

My heart was beating like crazy and I grabbed everything I found and ran back to my house. I tore open my door and ran upstairs to my room and hid the evidence of Hiccup's actions underneath a creaky floorboard in my room. My head was spinning and I just didn't know what to do anymore. My hands were shaking and I was sweating hard. I rushed into my bathroom, and started to pour water on myself to try and calm myself. It didn't work. I always knew there were something more to dragons, but I never thought anyone, let alone Hiccup, could ride one. I heard the front door close and noise from downstairs which I jumped to. I came out of my room and saw my mom attempting to put my dad on the couch from him drinking too much. She threw a blanket on him and put an extra pillow under his head until she made her way upstairs. She gave me a soft smile and a small giggle for my father, who would have an awful hangover tomorrow morning.

"Good night dear, I'll see you in the morning." She said. "Even if you weren't chosen to kill the dragon, you made our family proud by coming in third from training."

"Mom, I need your help." I breathed out. She stopped walking and turned and ushered me into my room. We sat down on my bed and she waited for me to continue. "What if a certain someone found out a secret, a secret that could change everything?"

"Is it that certain someone's secret to tell?"

"Well that certain someone knew that person whose secret it is, but is gone."

"Well if that person is gone, he or she must have believed that no one would find out at all. That person didn't do a good job hiding it. Is it a secret that has a positive side to it?"

"Yes and no." I told her. "It could do some good, but it could do some damage if people took it the wrong way."

"Well this certain someone needs to either keep or reveal the secret. I believe in revealing the secret. Everyone has secrets, that's why their called secrets, but if they can do more good than harm, then the secret should be told. Life is a game. We can choose to take the easy way out and play by the rules, or take a chance and create something nobody would ever expect. This secret could do plenty of good if this certain someone knows what they're doing with it." I didn't say anything after that, my mom must have noticed and went straight to bed. I knew exactly what I would do tomorrow, hoping the good outweighed the bad.

* * *

Stoick's POV

I was at the docks with Alvin and his Outcast lackeys. They were boarding their ship, but Alvin turned back to me and gave me his usual sickening smirk. I was glaring at him as he walked back and stood right in front of me.

"So are you going to ever finish that horrendous tale from last night?" I told him. He just looked at me before his smirk broke out into a full smile. He moved even closer until his mouth was near my ear, where only I could hear him and nobody else.

"That dragon was a Night Fury, the runt was your son Hiccup, and the girl was Camicazi the Crazed. Hiccup was riding the Night Fury and escaped my clutches with Camicazi the Crazed and headed probably to the Bog-Burglar Tribe." He spoke. I immediately backed away from him, as if he had the skin of a Fireworm dragon. I stared at him as if he was mad and gave him a dark glare.

"And I though Oswald's son Dagur was mad."

"That boy is as mad as they come. But who knows, I could be lying, or telling the truth, you may never know. It was nice seeing you again Stoick, I would stay but winter is coming and the snow will start at any time. Let's do this again when we're both free." Alvin smiled cruelly at me and left the docks and headed to his ship. The ship was moving and the sun was rising higher and higher in the sky. I stayed at the docks until Alvin's ship was no longer in my field of vision. I was going to head to the Great Hall for some breakfast, but I bumped into someone. I looked down and saw that it was Fishlegs who was getting back up and dusting himself off the ground.

"Sorry there Fishlegs, I didn't see you there." I said. "Is there something you need?" I stared at the boy curiously since he was shaking like crazy and looked like he had the runs instead of an actual problem. Fishlegs finally looked up to me, and his expression which was full of fear, chilled me to the bone.

"Chief Stoick, I have something to tell you. . ." he spoke nervously.

* * *

A/N: Hey guys, here is the new chapter you've been waiting for. Sorry for the wait, if i update a chapter early, then i won't give you another update since it was the one that was going to be given during the weekend. This was suppose to come late last night, but i never clicked the 'Publish' button, so sorry. In this chapter, you got some backstory of the Haddock-Jorgenson family relationship, which I've been wondering how to establish for awhile. I always wondered how the Jorgensons could have some animosity to the Haddocks, so i decided to make Spitelout a bastard who's always hated his status on Berk and uses Snotlout to get his revenge on his brother by bullying Hiccup throughout childhood and adolescence. I wanted to let Fishlegs show the twins that they had a role in making Hiccup leave Berk, since they damaged him through their pranks they believed were harmless. Fishlegs is going to play a larger role later on in the story, but not now. If you've noticed, i changed the official summary for DW and i finally decided on how many chapters would be in this story. There will be 23 chapters for Dark Wings and the sequel will be called Caged. The sequel will come probably by the end of September and i decided not to fully bring in Valka and Drago until the third story, because of how i made final plans on how Dark Wings will end. I decided to leave this chapter with a cliffhanger, to see your reactions to Fishlegs decision on Hiccup. Next chapter, you'll get a whole lot of things that deal with Hiccup and Camicazi, as well as, dragons and fight scenes. I also found out that my story _Not Useless,_ was selected to be in the Community The Best, Funny and Romantic Fanfiction for HTTYD. That is so awesome! Review and tell me what you thought of the chapter. Since this chapter was late, you'll get a chapter this weekend.

Timeline of Dark Wings:

 **Chapter 1 – Hiccup leaves Berk, but get's captured.**

 **Chapter 2 – Stoick returns to Berk and gets some surprising news. Hiccup reunites with an old friend. An old enemy returns. An escape is in progress.**

 **Chapter 3 – Hiccup reunites with Camicazi and escapes.**

 **Chapter 4- Hiccup tells Camicazi the truth. Hiccup and Camicazi reconnect. Dragon Training continues at Berk.**

 **Chapter 5 – Dragon training continues on Berk. Devastating raid. Stoick has regrets.**

 **Chapter 5.5 - Astrid v Ruffnut**

 **Chapter 6 – The Bog-Burglar Tribe. A mysterious figure on Bog territory.**

 **Chapter 7 – Negotiations with Big Boobied Bertha.**

 **Chapter 7.5 - Dragon Training Champion. Alvin returns. Fishlegs finds clues about Hiccup.**

Chapter 8 – Weapon and dragon training begins. Hiccup and Camicazi get closer. Trader Johann. Secrets uncovered. Heather.

Chapter 8.5 - Snoggletog on Berk and the Bog-Burglars

Chapter 9 – 1 year pass and a tribe asks for help.

Chapter 9.5 - Harvest Festival with the Bog-Burglar Tribe

Chapter 10 – Hiccup continues his adventures. New discoveries. Hiccup and the Meatheads.


	10. Swords, Dragons, and Secrets - Part 1

A/N: I know this chapter is really really late, but i had a lot of things going on the past week which prevented me from posting this chapter. One problem was dropping my laptop and having to pay an absurd amount of money for repairs and i didn't get it back until a few hours ago. But you're not hear to listen to me babble, but to read. This is only Part 1 since i am still recovering files and much more right now. Well what are you waiting for? Read!

* * *

Hiccup's POV

It was late afternoon, and the air –which should have taken on a slight chill – was slightly warm. This was a sign that there would be a dragon raid soon. Immediately after the trial yesterday, Bertha, the Council, and I had made plans to start dragon training immediately. Unfortunately, the village had no dragons that were locked up earlier, so we would have to take a risk befriending dragons at the earliest opportunity if a pack was heading this way. There was food in baskets situated in the main center of the island, where the dragons would land. None of the Bogs had any weapons on them, which they were slightly wary of. About three-quarters of the village had showed up, according to Bertha, who was by my side waiting for the dragons. I didn't blame the other villagers who weren't too keen on learning about dragons, it would take time for everyone to wrap their head around that dragons were friends, and not enemies. From the people who were here now, consisted of all the Council members and their families, kids and their parents, and the rest of the older teens in the village. There were adults as well, but those who were elders didn't come. I didn't blame them, they were either too old to ride or chose to keep their old ideals.

The air was getting warmer, and the screeches and roars of the dragons were getting louder. Toothless was in front of me, guarding me from any danger. I gave him a reassuring head rub, and he seemed content with that and moved to stand by Camicazi who was looking up in the air curiously. I turned to Bertha and the villagers, as they were waiting for me to guide them at this once impossible task.

"Now remember, no weapons on you at all. The dragons will be on their guard if they sense a threat. Walk slowly and don't make any sudden movements. Take a fish out of the basket near you now so you'll have something to feed the dragons. Toothless and I will go slowly to the dragons so he can communicate with them to show that we mean no harm." I told everyone.

The roars got louder and the dragons came down from the sky. There were Nadders, Gronckles, Zipplebacks, Nightmares, and even a few Typhoomerangs. They were staring at us in shock, since nobody was attacking them. Toothless let out a few roars and the dragons tilted their heads at us until returning back to Toothless. I motioned for Toothless to move and we were walking slowly to the dragons. I crouched low to a Nightmare and held my palm out, beckoning it forward, until it put its face to my hand. I smiled and rubbed its head. Bertha and everyone else were looking at me and the dragons in awe, until I motioned for them to start moving. Bertha, Camicazi, and everyone else moved slowly and the dragons were coming near them in interest, as well as the fish they were holding in their hands. Bertha approached a blue Nadder and followed what I did, and got the same result. When everyone else saw what their Chieftess did, they quickly followed in pursuit. There were numerous dragons by the villagers side and none were attacking.

"I can't believe this, I'm petting a Nadder right now Hiccup!" Bertha laughed. The Nadder squawked in approval of Bertha. I looked around and saw that Destin and Dalla picked a Zippleback, while their mother was admiring a Nadder by them. Valerie was petting a purple Nadder and Palva was checking out a Monstrous Nightmare. Zyon though, was nowhere to be found near any dragons, he was leaning on a pole, observing the whole bonding experience. He had a small smile on his face, but a guarded look in his eye. He met my sight and held onto my stare until turning away and heading towards the forest. I looked at his retreating back until Camicazi came up next to me.

"Three hundred years of fighting, and now were going to befriend dragons." She spoke. She gave me a smile before leaning on Toothless and observing the crowd.

"Yes we are. I mean you are. The Bog-Burglars are befriending dragons now, since I already have Toothless, you know. I scratched my head and silently criticized myself for acting a fool in front of Camicazi. Camicazi smiled at me and shook her head, as I quickly came to my senses.

"Are you not getting a dragon?" I spoke.

"None of these dragons here don't interest me. A Nadder is too vain, a Nightmare is too bold, a Gronckle is too slow, and a Zippleback doesn't even cover me." I need something that defines me, you know?

I smiled at that. "What about a Changewing? I can imagine you and your mom having them as dragons. Sneaky, strong, beautiful, and deadly. They would be perfect for you guys. Do you guys have any Changewings that lurk around on the island from time to time?"

"Yeah, we do. Last month a few of them came down and took some food without us noticing. Sneaky things, how do people deal with there stuff being stolen at anytime without noticing?"

"I wonder what they remind me of." I said dryly. Camicazi rolled her eyes and we started to head towards Destin and Dalla. They were trying to think of names for their Zippleback while Palva was leaning against her Nightmare. Valerie was wiping down her Nadder's nose with a piece of cloth.

"So what do you guys think?" I asked them.

"I think this is one of the most crazy things that has ever come to us Bogs, and that's saying a lot. Stormfly here is not as bad as I thought." Valerie spoke.

"You already name her?" I was shocked at how quick Valerie came to love her dragon.

"Yeah." She spoke to me as if I was asking her a simple question. "Stormfly and I are going to make an excellent team." Valerie flipped her hair back while Stormfly squawked in agreement.

"Stormfly?" Destin spoke. He was untangling himself from one of the heads while Dalla was petting her dragon's head in a relaxing manner. "What a boring name."

"And what's your dragon's name Destin?" Destin shifted his eyes over all of us and mumbled something that we couldn't hear.

"Speak up, we can't you from down there D" Camicazi teased.

"Sparky." He finally said. We all laughed at that while Destin blushed furiously.

Bertha had clapped her hands together to get everyone's attention in the center. We all looked at her as she waited for everyone to listen to what she had to say.

"Well I know I can rest easy with a dragon by my side instead of with anger when I look up to the sky. We can't do much now since it's getting dark, but tomorrow will be a new day where Bogs and dragons are united instead of divided in battle!" she spoke. Her words were met with cheers from the villagers and roars of agreement from the dragons. The villagers were starting to make their way back to their homes and the dragons followed them. The gang said their goodbyes and made their way back to their homes for rest and sleep as the moon shined down on the village, casting a soft glow. Camicazi was starting to make her way back to the house and I was going to follow, until Bertha put a hand on my shoulder, stopping me from going anywhere. I looked at her in confusion, but before I could say anything, she spoke.

"Thank you, for giving us this chance to bond with dragons. If our ancestors were here, they would die of shock from what we're doing now. About five years ago, we had a horrible raid. Camicazi just turned ten a few days ago and at the dead of night, there was a massive raid. Hundreds of dragons descended on us and attacked. It was one of the bloodiest raids ever on Bog territory. About half the island was destroyed, crisp with ash from dragon fire. So many people were killed and winter was just around the corner. I was so afraid that in a few short months, we Bogs were going to be written off the face of the archipelago. We called it the Black Raid. But we survived through winter and came back stronger than before. I never hated dragons so much that night. But now, you helped me see through that hatred and create something new. So thank you Hiccup, for everything." She gave me a quick smile before heading off back to the house for bed. I was moved by her words and I smiled at her retreating back as she left for home.

"Tomorrow is going to be a brand new day bud." I gave Toothless a pat and we walked back home, for tomorrow would be full of surprises and revelations.

* * *

 _Morning_

I woke up to the sounds of noise from outside and Toothless' bouncing. I sat up in my bed to see Toothless jumping around the room like he was on a sugar high. He noticed I was awake and immediately came to my side, greeting me with a lick to my face.

"Morning bud, hungry?" I said. He wiggled around and burped in my face in response."Ew! Fish breath, I'll take that as a yes." I got up and got ready for the day, throwing on some clean clothes and washing myself, especially Toothless' slobber. We walked downstairs and there was a large basket full of various types of fish near the kitchen. Toothless immediately bounded for it and started ravishing the fish supply. I shook my head at his gluttenus nature.

"You're going to get fat Toothless and won't be able to fly anymore." I laughed at him, but he threw a piece of regurgitated fish at me. "Ew! Toothless!" I threw the fish away and wiped my face. Searching through the kitchen, I grabbed plenty of fruit and some pieces of bread, eating it as quickly as Toothless was doing with his fish. _Now I'm going to get fat._ I finished eating and started to clean up, but before I could get to Toothless' mess, the front door slammed open and Camicazi ran up to me with a smile on her face.

"There you are! It took you long enough to wake up!" she yelled at me, but before I could do anything, she grabbed my arm and ran, dragging me out the door. Toothless had run after us, wondering what Camicazi was so eager to show me. She let go of my arm and gestured to the village, which was transforming greatly. There were feeding stations in the main center where dragons were eagerly eating, there were wooden stables that were in process of being built near homes, and the former dragon heads that were posted on the mantle of homes, were switched with a painting of the dragons that now lived in the Vikings homes. Dragons were flying around and some were even carrying supplies in nets. I smiled wide at the sight before me, for dragons were friends with one of the craziest Vikings in the archipelago.

"When did you get started?" I asked her in amazement.

"Mom and the builders got up extra early to start working on the stables for the dragons and feeding stations. I got the idea of saddle making for Vinnie and Sage from Toothless' saddle. They still make weapons, but just not for killing dragons." She told me proudly. "There's something else, but it's a surprise!"

"This is so awesome Camicazi!" I was excited about what Bertha did, but I stopped my excitement, after hearing her last words. "A surprise?" I said warily.

"Oh come on! Most people love surprises!"

"The last time I got a surprise from you, I ended up trapped in Berk's well for three hours."

"It couldn't have been that bad." She waved her hand as a dismissal to my words.

"Trapped. In a well. For three hours Camicazi. If you've been trapped a well, you would understand."

"Oh please. Being trapped in a well? If you think a well was scary, just wait until you start your training to become a Bog! Now that's going to be some fun watching you do all those crazy things."

"You're going to be the death of me, you do realize that?"

"Oh hush up!" she rolled her eyes at me and flicked my forehead with her fingers. Toothless was laughing at me, since my pain seemed to cause him enjoyment. I looked at him and he seemed to chortle even louder. "Now are you going to stop complaining and see the surprise now, the gang and I worked hard on it and we woke up extra early to do it."

"No wells?"

"No wells."

"All right." I sighed out in defeat and she grabbed me once again, running as fast as possible, to wherever we were going. Toothless was running to keep up with Camicazi's fast pace, for someone so small, she was surprisingly quick. As we were running, I noticed that we were heading in the direction of the training arena. _What's at the training arena for me?_ When we got closer, I noticed the gang, Bertha, the Council members, and their dragons all waiting for us. Camicazi let go of me and joined Bertha's side.

"I know you've given us a lot already Hiccup, but we decided to give you something in return." Bertha spoke.

"You gave me a chance to live and teach you guys dragons, I don't need anything than that." I protested, but Camicazi looked like she wanted to slap me, along with Valerie, Palva, and Dalla.

"Dude, we spent hours getting this place ready, you're accepting this gift!" Destin said.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with this fool." Valerie said. She smirked at Destin's pout, while everyone else just rolled their eyes. "You're going to love what we all did, and plus, no one else can do this but you."

"Do what?" I asked.

"This." Zyon spoke. I was kind of shocked by Zyon, he's friendly to me and makes jokes every now and then, but he always disappeared most of the time and came back at random moments. He was quiet and practically an adult in our crazy gang, so he didn't have as much fun as he should. _I'll ask Camicazi about him later._ Zyon had pulled a rope that was connected to a piece of cloth, which fell with his tug. I looked up to see an oval shaped stone with a painting of Toothless. But the picture of Toothless wasn't what shocked me, but the words engraved underneath. _The Dragon Training Academy of the Bog Burglar Tribe._

"Dragon Training Academy?" I asked.

"We figured if you're going to teach the tribe on how to ride dragons, you'd need a place to do so." He confirmed my question. I was grinning wide and Zyon opened the gates of the academy. As I led the group in with their dragons, I was amazed by the transformation of the place. There were banners of different dragons covering the wall, numerous benches were set up in the middle with a chalkboard set up in front of them. The former cages that trapped dragons, were cleaned and cleared out. There were piles of hay in each one with buckets of water. There was even an obstacle course for the dragons to do in the corner.

"Are you sure now that you don't want it, Hiccup?" Camicazi teased. We were all inside now with our dragons. Everyone was staring at me with hopeful expressions, except for Zyon, who was just smirking at me the whole time.

"Of course I want it!" I said eagerly. "I'll be the teacher of the Dragon Training Academy."

"When do we start?" Palva spoke.

"Now!" I held up a piece of chalk and gestured for everyone to take a seat. "Let's get started!"

It didn't take long for everyone here to learn about their dragons. Bertha and Valerie were greatly proficient with their Nadders. Bertha's purple Nadder, Deadshot, fit its name perfectly. He never missed a target and was highly accurate. Bertha's reaction though when she found out her Nadder was a guy than a girl, brought everyone to tears from laughing too hard. Palva's Nightmare BoneCrusher was strong. They would make a formidable pair in combat if anyone would ever try and go against them. Destin and Dalla had a bit of trouble at first when trying to discern the different types of heads of their dragons, but after telling them about the distinguishing marks on each head to tell their own dragon apart, they easily picked up the pace. Vinnie and Sage even stopped by with their dragons, a pair of Gronckles who were as bold and fun like their owners. The only people who didn't do as much, were Camicazi and Zyon, who didn't have any dragons.

Camicazi, I could understand. She still didn't have a dragon, but she was taking in all the details I taught as well. She helped me with a few things and got Bertha to even take a small flight around the arena, which was great. Zyon on the other hand, didn't really need any lessons. Like me, he had a natural touch to dragons. They all warmed up to him and practically fought to get even the faintest of recognition from the guy. The moment I met him, I knew he was different. _Just what is he hiding?_ Zyon had turned from his conversation with Valerie, and gave me a wink.

 _What are you hiding Zyon?_

* * *

 _Tomorrow afternoon_

After Camicazi and Valerie had returned from a Council meeting, the gang and I (except for Zyon) had decided to take a flight on our dragons. Camicazi was with me on Toothless and everyone else was flying behind, trying to keep up with his speed. Despite the cold temperatures in the air, the thrill of flying with the dragons kept our bodies warm.

"Let's give them a show Hiccup." Camicazi said behind me. I smiled and urged Toothless to go up. We were flying as fast as possible, doing wild stunts and tricks. Everyone else had stopped in flight, and were watching us in awe.

"Show off!" Destin teased.

"Don't be mad because you're jealous Dede." Dalla spoke. She smiled when everyone started laughing at him, but I just frowned in confusion. Seeing my confused state, Palva spoke up.

"Destin and Dalla looked like twins when they were kids. Their grandmother kept on calling him Dede because she thought he was a girl until their mom set her straight. He hates it when anyone calls him that." She said to me. Destin was so red, it looked like his head was going to explode.

"That stays between us and only us, no one else should know about that!" Destin yelled.

"Half the village knows that nickname D, it's not their fault our grandmother was as blind as a bat." Dalla laughed again when her brother was trying to come up with excuses, but it wasn't working. We were starting to get a bit too cold from being up in the air for too long, so we landed our dragons back at the academy. We grabbed fish baskets for our dragons to give to them for lunch, before we made our way to the Great Hall for some food. We grabbed some smoked fish and sweet breads before sitting down at our usual table.

"So Camicazi, have you decided when we're looking for a Changewing?" I said.

"You guys are looking for a Changewing?" Palva asked. She was shocked and stopped eating when she heard me speak.

"Yup." Camicazi confirmed. She popped a piece of bread in her mouth and chewed it before continuing. "None of the other dragons here interest me so we're going for a Changewing."

"But no one's ever seen a Changewing before, they blend into their environments and are naturally sneaky!" Valerie protested.

"How about a Gronckle?" Dalla offered. "There are a few that don't have any riders."

"Can you honestly see me riding a Gronckle? And they're not even that fast with all that weight they carry."

"Vinnie and Sage have Gronckles Camicazi, just because you're bitter since you don't have a dragon, doesn't mean you can bitch about everyone else's" Palva spoke. Camicazi gave her a frightening glare before speaking again.

"And plus, Changewings are bold, quick, and sneaky. They're just – "

"They're just like us Bogs Valerie" a voice said. "Don't you think a dragon that suits the rider's personality best would be better than one that's the complete opposite?" We all turned around to see Zyon, who was covered in dirt and grass stains. He was a holding an empty bag that was covered in dried blood and some fur. He sat down next to Palva and stole her bread from her plate. She glared at him, but he just winked at her.

"Why are you covered in blood and fur?" I questioned.

"I hunt in the woods and give the game I catch to the cooks for the food supply."

"I'm learning new things about you all the time Zyon."

"That you are Hiccup."

"Whatever, it's not like she'll be able to do it." Valerie rolled her eyes and smirked at Camicazi. I knew that Camicazi and Valerie were like sisters who argued all the time, so I didn't try to intervene from Val's comments.

"Care to bet on it Val?" Zyon countered. Destin had told me that Zyon sees Camicazi as the baby in our little group, since Camicazi usually gets into too many messes and that he usually cleans them up or until Bertha finds out.

"Hmm. . ." she tapped her chin in thought until an idea popped into her head. "If Camicazi can't train a Changewing as her own, she'll have to give me her prized sword." My mouth dropped at that, Camicazi was attached to her sword like a dragon to fish.

"And when I do find and train my own Changewing, you'll have to cut your hair." Camicazi smiled wide and everyone's mouth dropped. Valerie looked pale and touched her long and thick blonde locks gingerly. Valerie was someone who prided herself as a member of one of the high members of the Bog's tribe. She wore the best clothes – second to Camicazi – and was deadly in hand to hand combat. She was high maintenance and did her hair in elaborate styles. She was sporting a braid she called a 'fishtail' that started from the crown of her head until it stopped on her chest. "Are you backing down Valerie, never took you as someone who quits when things get difficult." Camicazi seemed to know exactly what riled Valerie up, since she slammed her hands on the table and leaned in Camicazi's face.

"I am no quitter midget. And when you lose this bet, I'm going to enjoy taking that sword of yours and putting it in my room." Valerie hissed and sat back down in her seat. She grabbed her bread and started shoving it down her throat in anger.

"Stress eating isn't good Val, you'll put weight on that teeny tiny body of yours."

"Bite me."

"That's not very ladylike Valerie, what would your mom say?"

"Camicazi!" Zyon interrupted. I sighed out a breath of relief for Zyon who just stopped Camicazi from being maimed by Valerie. It looked like she was going to beat Camicazi with her own plate. Palva just shook her head along with Dalla, while Destin was practically crying from amusement.

"Man, this is the best day ever. Thank you my stone of good fortune!" Destin cheered.

"Stone of good fortune?" We all asked in unison.

"I am sad to be related to you right now big bro, I can't believe we came out the same womb." Dalla shook her head while looking at her brother in disbelief.

"Oh shut up, Dalla." Destin had pulled a stone from the inside of his vest and placed it on the table. "See?" he said. The stone of power in question was a rock that was a dark blue color, while the middle of it was a dull red and yellow. I picked it up and felt its texture. It was smooth as stone, but it didn't have the weight of one. I never seen a stone that had such strange colors together.

"Are you sure this is even a stone?" I spoke up. "It doesn't even look like one."

"Of course it is! Old Grout said so." Everyone at the table looked at Destin as if he was insane.

"Who or what is Old Grout?" Camicazi slapped her palm to her head before sighing out and explaining it to me.

"Old Grout is the village drunk." She said. "He drinks like crazy since he lost his family about sixty-five years ago. Ever since then, he drinks and makes up the most insane stories to date. He's half mad as well. I'm surprised he hasn't keeled over and died yet from the way he chugs down all that ale and wine."

"The fact that you listened to Old Grout is just sad, and here I thought you had a brain." Palva said. Zyon took the questionable stone from the table, and looked over it again. He was turning it over and over again until he stopped, with a dark look on his face.

"This is not some stone of good fortune Destin, it's a petrified dragon egg. Wherever you found it, put it back immediately." He spoke.

"I knew it wasn't some rock or stone, but it doesn't look anything like a regular dragon egg." I said.

"Most dragon eggs look the same, but not all dragons have the same type of eggs. Every dragon is different Hiccup. You can tell if you look hard enough, that the egg had some life in it before."

"Wherever you got that egg Destin, you need to put it back. And back now. Petrified or not, I'm pretty sure Bertha doesn't want some angry dragon to destroy the village from hunting down its egg."

"Ugh, fine! Then let's go now and put it back in the forest." Destin got up and grabbed the petrified dragon egg, with us following him. We made it to the academy, and the minute we paired up on the dragons, we shot up into the sky. Destin was leading us above the forest near the beach, until he motioned for us to land soon. We were in a deeper part of the forest that I've never seen or been in. The trees had an ominous feel and then when I looked up, I noticed that a few of them were glowing.

"Please tell me I'm not imagining things right now, because I think that tree is glowing." I said.

"Nope, this is where I found them." Destin told us. "Pretty cool, huh?" Before anyone could even respond to that comment, Valerie jumped off of Stormfly, motioned for Sparky to lower his head, and slapped Destin hard. He was clutching his cheek and glared at Valerie.

"What kind of fool takes an egg from a dragon's nest? Do you plan out your days when you act stupid or do something reckless?!" Valerie yelled. She snatched the egg out of his vest pocket and put it into the trees. As we were about to head back, there was a small roar of pain. We turned to look at our dragons, and they didn't let out that roar. Camicazi and I looked at each other, before taking off on Toothless to follow that noise. The others followed us and we were met with more noise, we got off our dragons and we were looking around the forest, but couldn't see a thing.

"I can hear it but I can't see it." Camicazi said. I didn't think Camicazi and I shared a brain, but we looked at each other the same time, and came to the same conclusion. "Check the bushes you guys." Everyone looked at us in confusion, except for Zyon, and started to do what Camicazi asked. Camicazi and I searched a bush, and felt a smooth and warm body, before ripping our hands away in safety.

"A Changewing!" we said in unison. Valerie looked horrified, clutching her braid and muttering something under her breath. Everyone else got closer and the Changewing revealed itself. It was smaller than most Changewings, so an adolescent one perhaps. It's scale were a decadent red with gold and faint black circles that ran down from its head to tail. The Changewings whole body looked like a perfect representation of fire. It was big enough for Camicazi to ride, but it's front left paw was twisted. It looked up to us and hissed in pain and annoyance.

"So Valerie, how short do you want your hair to be?" Destin teased.

"Do you want a matching set of red cheeks Destin!?" she yelled. Zyon shushed the both of them, in fear of any other Changewings lurking around. The Changewing on the ground watched all of us warily, especially Camicazi who was crouched down and the closest to it. She held her palm out, and when the Changewing sensed no danger from anyone, it accepted her gesture. We quickly got some things out from the few supplies I had on Toothless, to make a makeshift splint. It took some convincing, but the Changewing flying was a relief since we had nothing to carry it with. It flew awkwardly with the uneven weight because of its leg, but we got back all right. We landed back at the academy, and gave some fish and water to the injured dragon. Camicazi was scratching the injured dragon, and it seemed fine with that since it put its head in her lap and hummed in content.

"So Valerie, I'm thinking a short bob like Palva's, what do you think?" Camicazi teased. Valerie looked horrified and I was trying hard to control my laughter before it exploded throughout the academy. Valerie glared at me, but everyone else joined in and Valerie cursed us all before leaving the academy with Stormfly. I went back to the forge for my shift to help Vinnie and Sage with the new saddles. The saddles were in high demand since the dragons and Vikings stopped fighting. I convinced those who had Monstrous Nightmares to lend me any shed scales so we can sow them onto the saddles to prevent it from being burned when they flared up. It was a great idea since burned saddles that came to the forge to be fixed was practically gone now. I started to work on my bola launcher again, since I convinced Bertha that it would be a good weapon to take down the sails of enemy ships which she eagerly agreed to. I made about five so far with Vinnie's help and they were stored in the armory, while Sage was looking over plans to improve the launchers release time.

"Hiccup, have you decided on a weapon yet?" Sage asked. She just finished an order of nails, before making adjustments on the plans for the bola launcher.

"Not really." I was sewing some Nightmares scales on the saddle while keeping up my conversation with her. "I knew I would need a weapon soon since I'm supposed to start Bog training, but I haven't thought of one yet. I need a weapon that defines me, like Toothless." Arrows, swords, maces, war hammers, daggers, spears, and so much more existed in the world. Toothless had opened an eye from his position on the ground from his nap next to Vinnie and Sage's Gronckles. He huffed in annoyance of me interrupting his precious nap time and closed his eyes once again. Vinnie had laughed and went back to get some leather for some extra saddles.

"How does Bog training work anyway?" I asked. Vinnie and Sage exchanged a smile and looked back to me.

"It's going to be a lot of work Hiccup. I remember when I went through training; I had to survive in the forest for a week during a storm with only a few pieces of dried meat and a thin blanket. How I miss the old days." Vinnie spoke. My eyes widened at that and my heart dropped in my stomach. Sage slapped her husband on the back of his head and he frowned at her.

"Ignore this fool Hiccup, he's just trying to scare you." She reassured me. Her gentle smile didn't do that much to keep me from being a bit frightened at Vinnie's words. "Don't worry too much Hiccup, it's going to be an intense training session, but have some fun with it." I guess that was all she was going to give me, so I returned to my stitching as I thought about the events that happened today. The three of us had worked throughout the entire day and didn't close up the forge until night. I made my way to the Great Hall and saw that the gang, except for Valerie, had already started piling meat, fish, and breads on a large plate. I was by their side immediately and was shoved food in to my idle hands. We made our way back to the table and Zyon gave me a stew. I looked at the bowl in question and tried it immediately. It was great and I shoved the rest down my throat, savoring every bite.

"Squirrel stew, courtesy of our hunter friend here." Camicazi said. Zyon rolled his eyes at her and just ate his own stew without saying anything to Camicazi.

"How's the Changewing doing Cami?" I asked. She smiled broadly at me and finished chewing her fish before telling me anything.

"Great! She seems to be healing just fine and might be able to use her paw tomorrow. You should've seen Val's face when she saw me playing with Shadow earlier today, she looked so pissed!" she laughed.

"Where's Valerie?" I asked. Before Camicazi or anyone else could tell me anything, Valerie had come inside the Great Hall with a look of extreme fury directed towards Camicazi. Camicazi looked smug the entire time as Valerie sat down and grabbed some fish to eat. My mouth dropped at Valerie's new look. Camicazi wasn't joking when she said she was going to chop off Valerie's blonde locks. Her former long blonde hair was reduced to a short bob that barely touched her shoulders. She still looked great in my opinion, but knowing Valerie, her new look was probably hell for her. She would move her hand to flip some hair from her shoulders, but would stop realizing that her hair was gone now and reduced to a bob.

"I am _in love_ with the new look Val, are you going to start wearing some hats when the snow starts?" she teased.

"I'm going to kill you Camicazi!" Valerie yelled. We got some stares from those who could hear us and when Bertha caught on to the noise, she was hiding a giggle behind her hand. The sounds of laughter slowly filled the Great Hall and I enjoyed the warm feeling of the love that filled the room. Camicazi and I had returned back home later and was met instantly by Shadow and Toothless. We gave them some belly rubs for their own enjoyment, before they moved in front of the hearth, laying down and falling asleep. Camicazi and I were sitting on the couch, basking in the comfortable silence, warmed by the hearth's fire and the blanket that we shared.

"How long have you had Toothless? She suddenly spoke. She was looking at Toothless curiously, before turning back to me.

"About two months. It feels much longer than that though. Sometimes, I can imagine how much my life would have been if I never had shot down Toothless." I said.

"And how would have your life have been without him?"

"Lonely." I admitted. "I still would have been the village embarrassment that made messes for everyone else to clean up. I would see Stoick scowl at me all the time and the bullying from the other teens in the village would never stop. You know, one time I heard someone say that it was a good thing my mom got taken by dragons, so she wouldn't have to see the embarrassment of a son that she gave birth to. But I don't care about that anymore. I'm still scared though, that someone from Berk might pop up here and find me."

"That's just cruel Hiccup, but you don't have to worry, nobody is going to force you away from us. We'll be right here by your side until the end." Camicazi squeezed my hand in support, but didn't let go.

"If I didn't have Shadow here or if you didn't teach me and the Bogs about what dragons really were like, I probably would have been the same. The girl who ran around the village and played pranks on everyone, sword fighting as usual and training to be Chieftess in the future after Mom. You know, I used to be so eager to grow up and become the Chieftess, but I'm actually scared." She confessed. I looked shocked at that. She saw my expression and gave me a slight smile. "There would be times where my mom would be at the table looking through trade agreements and marriage proposals throughout the night. She would return home so late sometimes and get a few hours of sleep, before rushing off to solve everyone else's problems. I wondered if I could do the work she could do, would I be able to make a decision that could impact the whole village without causing trouble? Could I even live up to the great Chieftess Bertha of the Bog-Burglar tribe? Despite the life I've had, there were even times where I felt useless." A silence had come between us, and I didn't want to leave it at that, so I comforted her. I squeezed her hand to let her know that I was here for as well. Camicazi smiled at me and started to lean in closer to me, her breath tickling my skin. I don't know where I got the courage from but I leaned in close to her, sealing the kiss.

We were lost in the kiss that made us forget about the bad things in life, but we were foolish in thinking that our lives were all right. For a storm was going to come, and change everything soon.

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A/N: O.M.G. I am so sorry for the late chapter which probably frustrated all my readers, and i really hope you stay with me despite the wait. So many things are happening in this chapter. Dragon Training Academy, bonding with dragons, a kiss for you HiccupxCami shippers, and some soon to be trouble for Hiccup and the people of the Bog Burglar tribe. This chapter is mainly revolving around the teens and their interactions with Hiccup. I haven't focused on them as much as i wanted to, so this chapter brings out each teens personality a bit more so you can see how they really are. You'll get the second part tomorrow, so look out for it. With school coming back up in a matter of days, i'll probably have some difficulty bringing out chapters, but i'm going to try and keep it on the usual Saturday/Sunday post. I want to get the chapters that you see on the timeline done before school starts, so i won't have that much stress when i have assignments and papers that are going to have a higher priority than my fanfics. I'm going to put up a poll after the second part that's going to be published, so check my profile after i posted the second part. Speaking of profiles, i updated my profile and put some detail into it, so check it out! Please review after each post so i can get your thoughts on each chapter. One more thing i wanted to say, if you watched the PLL finale last night, i just wanted to let you know THAT I WASTED FIVE YEARS OF MY LIFE TRYING TO FIND OUT WHO A IS FOR THAT NOT SO GREAT FINALE. Well that's it, review as usual and let me know what you thought of Part 1.

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Response to Reviews (i kept on forgetting to post this in the previous chapters)

TT-and-HTTYD-FAN: I'm glad you like it so far, keep on reading and reviewing!

Transformers 0: Lol, i'm glad you liked how the chapter turned out. I didn't even realize that i planned my chapters out like a script. Good luck with your passion to be a filmmaker in the future!

Dragon Lord Draco: I hate cliffhangers too, but i had to do it. This chapter you got Hiccup's view so i hope you will like it

Tchurch:lol! i love how you think!

MMM: Maybe, maybe not.

Riverat73: Thanks, i'm glad you like it so far

Post U Later: I hope your not mad for the late update, but look forward to the next few chapters, you'll get your answer there!

NoTearsFalling: It's all right, i'm glad for any type of review. Some people overlook Fishlegs, so i put a lot of emphasis on him usually during the Berk chapters. Thanks for the encouragement!

Ken106348: I'm glad it grabbed your attention

Brenne: Lol! You won't know more about Berk until the next few chapters, so the suspense will build up

Dj-bxl: I'm glad that Fishlegs is now your favorite character, thanks for the encouragement


	11. Swords, Dragons, and Secrets - Part 2

A/N: Here you go! I know everyone's been waiting and i'm sorry for the long wait. Go ahead and read on!

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Hiccup's POV

Camicazi and I didn't talk about the kiss the other night since we were embarrassed about it. Sure it was great, but every time our eyes met, we both blushed hard. Bertha had woken up early and when she made her way downstairs and saw us cuddled on the couch, she screamed and gave us 'the talk' in the utmost detail. She made me go teach at the academy early so she could have a private word with Camicazi. When Camicazi had shown up for training, she was as red as the beads around her neck. Valerie picked up on our tension, and was practically at my hip during lessons to get revenge on Camicazi for cutting her hair.

It was getting colder and the sky was slowly darkening with grey clouds. There was a chance that there was going to be a storm today, so Bertha had ordered everyone to finish work in the village at the earliest convenience so no one would get hurt. Shadow was in perfect health once again, but didn't fly back to wherever she came from. She stood by Camicazi's side and they flew perfectly together as if they were meant to find each other. Zyon looked a little on edge when he came to help me with the lesson on shot limits, but he schooled his features in an emotional mask to deflect any attention from him.

Before I could say anything or question Zyon about why he looked so tense, a drop of water came from the sky.

"Don't tell me. . ." I started, but the quick sound of lightning and the darkened clouds that dominated the sky proved me right. A lightning storm had come and the rain started to pour down hard. Not another storm! The sun was replaced with a gloomy sky that screamed with the sounds of the Gods from each lighting strike. Before I could say anything else, Bertha had swooped down from the sky with her Nadder. Her hair was a mess, and she was soaked to the bone.

"Everyone get to the Great Hall! If it gets to full, stay into your homes until the storm has passed. Doesn't look like Thor's too happy, and we're paying the price. This storm doesn't look like it's going to stop, it might even turn into a flood so get moving!" she ordered us. We all hopped onto our dragons –Zyon joined Palva on her Nightmare – and headed for the Great Hall. The gang was going a bit slow than usual, since this was their first time actually flying in a storm, but they did well. In a matter of minutes we were at the Great Hall. There were dragons and villagers running inside as fast as possible, and we quickly joined them. The guards shut the doors and locked them immediately.

Toothless looked unnerved by the storm, but I didn't blame him. The last time a storm had come; we were separated and almost died. I held his head and put it close to my own, as a sign of reassurance for the both of us.

"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you bud." Toothless' own cat-like green eyes stared back at me, and I smiled in return. I let out a shiver and a sneeze from the cold, and I found myself curled up by Toothless. "You always know when to help me, don't you?" Toothless had given me a gummy smile and I grabbed a small bucket of fish next to me for him. He eagerly ate it up. Bertha had called for everyone's attention and we all turned to see her standing on the high table with a few guards and Council members behind her.

"This storm doesn't look like it's going to let up anytime soon, so stay inside. I don't want anyone getting hurt at all. There are blankets being distributed and food will be coming out shortly, so eat up and stay warm." She came off from the table and dismissed the guards and Council members who were hovering around her. She bounded up to Camicazi and quickly examined her to see if she was all right. When she found no damage, she left her be and attended to the villagers who needed her attention. The gang had sat in a circle with me, and their dragons wrapped around them as well. Nobody else seemed to catch on, but Zyon still looked a little tense, though he schooled his features in an emotionless mask. We tried to play a few games to let time pass, but we quickly got over them since staying in the Great Hall was boring us. The Hall was silent and I guess everyone else had the same idea as us, before I fell asleep, the flash of lightning and movement in the sky was the last thing I saw before the darkness claimed me.

I woke up to Camicazi shaking me awake and the tense air of the dragons. She pulled me up and Toothless was looking in the direction of everyone else: outside. The storm was over now, but left a mess in the village. There were broken trees scattered on the ground and wooden carts were tossed and broken all over the place. The homes were fine, but some stables would need to be repaired or just rebuilt entirely. Some doors to the forge or the leather shop were flung open due to the strong winds. Bertha had ordered a cleanup so we started to help put the village back in order. We were moving the most damaged items into a pile and clearing the walking paths of any debris. The dragons in the village were carrying the broken trees into a pile that the builders were going through. If any of the trees weren't too wet, they would use it to rebuild and repair some of the stables that were damaged by the storm. It took some hours, but the village was looking better after the storm hit.

We were outside the forge, leaning against the walls taking a breather. I just finished helping Vinnie put new hinges on the door and creating a rush order of supplies to help in the repairs. After things had calmed down, we took a walk while Toothless and the other dragons were playing somewhere on the island. Camicazi had invited everyone back to the house to relax, and everyone took up her offer. We quickly made our way back to the house. We were just hanging around the main area of the house and laughing, until the front door slammed open. We jumped and turned to see Bertha with a pissed look on her face.

"Mom!" Camicazi ran up to Bertha, who gave her an angered look in return. "What's going on?"

"I don't know, I'm hoping all of you tell me." Bertha crossed the room and stared each of us down, holding my sight a few seconds longer. "Why did three Changewings just attack a group of children playing with colored rocks?!"

"Wait. What!?" I said to Bertha. She turned to me and was tapping her foot impatiently, demanding an answer.

"Three Changewings just attacked a group of children who were playing with some colored rocks. The kids are all right, but you told me that dragons wouldn't attack unless they sensed danger or were attacked first! What is going on?"

"Those weren't colored rocks Bertha, they were Changewing eggs. The storm must have moved the eggs from their original nesting place and into the village. The Changewings must think that we took their eggs from them." Zyon interrupted. He had a hard look on his face and was staring directly at Bertha who looked like she wanted to throw a table.

"Are you telling me that there are going to be Changewings destroying my village in search of their eggs?" Bertha's voice was dead cold. Zyon nodded in response. Bertha was pacing back and forth until she stopped and ran a hand through her blonde curls. "You guys need to get those eggs out and away from the village; I don't want anyone else getting hurt at all." We immediately left the house and called for our dragons. Zyon decided to scout the island to see how many eggs were lingering around. The sky quickly turned dark by the time Toothless, Shadow, and the others returned to our side. We saddled up and took to the sky. Bertha and some guards were escorting some of the villagers back into their homes or the Great Hall, and then I saw the flash of movement. If I wasn't in the air, I wouldn't have seen the Changewing reveal were three Changewings on top of the Great Hall. They were as big as a Monstrous Nightmare and were roaring with fury.

"We are so screwed." Destin spoke out suddenly. We all turned to look at him in exasperation, and he just shrugged his shoulders at us. "What, I'm realist." I ignored Destin's comments and saw Zyon waving at me to get my attention. I directed everyone to land and we waited for Zyon to tell us about what he found.

"There are four eggs in total, since one got taken away by the Changewings earlier, there are three left. Those Changewings are going to tear the village apart looking for their eggs so we need to get to them first." He told us, but he looked at Shadow in confusion. "Camicazi, when we fight against the rogue Changewings, do you know if Shadow will stay by your side?"

"We'll find out when the Changewings come Zyon. We should split up and look for the eggs to lure them away before any damage comes to the village." Camicazi immediately shot up into the night sky and Valerie glared at him and I looked at him in confusion. The others didn't say anything as they watched Zyon.

"Did you have to be so harsh?" I demanded. Zyon rolled his eyes at me before speaking again.

"Yes." He said bluntly. "Camicazi just bonded with Shadow, but when those pack of Changewings come, Shadow will have to choose between her or her pack. I'm just speaking the truth that the rest of you guys are running from. The dragons just bonded with you, they aren't going to stay by your side the whole time."

"Toothless and I – "

"Toothless and you have been together for some time and had a completely different situation than us Bogs. Shadow and the others could leave at any second because their bond isn't as strong as you guys. You and I both know that the dragons eventually have to go back to where they come from in the end, no matter what. I know it isn't something you want to hear, but the dragons will not stay by our side forever." I was irritated with Zyon's words, but I knew what he said was true. Everyone was quiet as they took in Zyon's words, but before anyone could say anything else, Camicazi's screams ripped through the air. Toothless and I immediately shot up in the air and followed them as everyone else flew to catch up to us. I saw Camicazi and Shadow flying as fast as possible with two eggs in her hands.

"It took you guys long enough!" she yelled at us. She gave me one of the eggs and was looking into the night sky in question. "I almost lost a leg when one of them threw some acid at me!"

I gave Camicazi a reassuring smile and she just rolled her eyes at me. "Whatever, the Changewings are getting angrier by the second. They almost tore my hands off when they got the other egg, and these are the last two. We need to give it to them before they tear the village apart!" We all nodded in agreement and flew as fast as possible over the village. The Changewings noticed us and came out of hiding. They started spewing acid in anger, before flying straight towards us.

"GO!" I yelled out. Camicazi and I broke from the group while the others tried to distract the Changewings. Destin and Dalla created a smokescreen before lighting it, but the Changewings dodged and attacked them, spewing acid at their saddles causing them to fall, but Sparky and Mystie caught them and landed for safety. The dragons were on edge and Shadow was growling in anger. Camicazi was holding tighter to Shadow's saddle straps and we dodged another stream of hot acid, and it hit a tree, forcing Palva to crash into Valerie. They were tangled together and cursing in anger for the Changewing's trickery. We were flying closer to the forest and went into the thick forest where the Changewings didn't once stop their assault.

"Plasma blast Toothless!" Toothless shot at a few trees, but it did nothing to slow the assault of the hostile Changewings. One disappeared and Camicazi and I were on edge. Toothless and I were still flying with Camicazi and Shadow by our side to the edge of the forest, but before we could escape, the other Changewing appeared in front of us, cutting us off. It swung its tail at us, causing both Camicazi and I to fall out of our saddles and into the open air. The Changewings shot acid at us, but before it touched our skin, a plasma blast blocked it, cutting us off from death. We were falling fast until we were caught by something large and dark. We landed safely and the eggs were ripped from our hands and when we looked up to the sky, our mouths dropped.

Zyon had saved us with his dragon, a Night Fury! He had both the remaining eggs in his hands and launched up into the sky with such speed that rivaled Toothless'. The Changewings roared in anger and immediately flew up. They were hot on his heels, but he quickly changed directions, causing the Changewings to crash into each other. He quickly threw the remaining eggs into the air, which the Changewings caught, before leaving. Zyon and his Night Fury came back down to us, watching our reactions with a guarded look in his eye.

"ZYON!?" Camicazi shouted. "WHAT THE HELL!? WHEN HELL DID YOU GET A NIGHT FURY!?"

"I had him for years." Zyon spoke. "Camicazi, Hiccup, meet Dark Star." The silence was deafening after that. Zyon had a Night Fury this whole time and nobody ever noticed. That must be why he disappeared for hours and his tense mood today. Zyon was still watching us, but mainly me, since I haven't spoken yet. I was staring more at Dark Star, who was obviously bigger and stronger than Toothless. Dark Star had whip scars on his body and his scales seemed to be even darker than Toothless', his gray eyes looked at you as if it was piercing your very soul. Dark Star looked at Camicazi, Shadow, and I in curiosity, but Toothless was too eager. He moved slowly to see more of Dark Star, who instantly tensed up. Toothless paused in his curiosity, staring at Zyon in curiosity.

"Toothless is a friend Dark Star, don't worry." Zyon spoke reassuringly. Dark Star seemed to accept that and warbled a greeting to Toothless who eagerly returned it.

"He's not alone anymore, Toothless isn't alone." I said. Zyon gave me a sad smile and rubbed Dark Star's head in a comforting manner. "How did you even find him?" I was so curious to see how they bonded and found each other. I could hear wings flapping overhead and saw Destin, Dalla, Valerie, and Palva staring at the ground in shock. Zyon just laughed silently before looking back at me.

"Let's just say you and I have some similar stories Hiccup, but don't worry, all of you guys will hear my story soon." He said. Suddenly, the sounds of wings flapping drew everyone's attention to the sky. Bertha was staring at us with a comical expression on her face when she saw Zyon and Dark Star in the middle of all us. She landed Striker and moved slowly to us, and she sighed heavily when she got a better look at Zyon and Dark Star.

"Let me guess, there's a story to this, isn't it?" Bertha said.

Zyon, Camicazi, and I looked at each other, before Zyon responded.

"Got that right."

* * *

The cold was picking up in Bog territory now. Everyone was starting to wear heavier furs or thicker tunics now. According to Bertha, the snow doesn't start until a few weeks unlike other tribes, where they got at least a light dusting of snow now. The forest was starting to lose its leaves and the sky was slowly turning gray and getting darker earlier. I would have been at the Academy right now but I left lessons to Valerie and Zyon, who were teaching about the different fighting styles a dragon has. It was a shocker a few days ago about Zyon and his Night Fury, Dark Star, but I was amazed more than angry. Zyon had a Night Fury and Toothless wasn't the last of his kind anymore. He promised to tell me more about him and Dark Star, and I couldn't wait for it. Now, I was helping Bertha and Camicazi unload supplies from boats and traders ships for the upcoming winter. The food supply was stocked to the brim and preparations for Snoggletog were underway. It would be my first Snoggletog with excitement, and I couldn't wait for the holiday to begin. Another trader's ship had docked and when I turned to greet this trader, my smile came off my face and fear ripped through me.

It was Trader Johann, and he looked as shocked as me when I came into his sight. Bertha and Camicazi immediately noticed my actions, and when they followed my sight, they were on edge. Bertha stepped in immediately, defusing the tension between us four.

"Johann! What are you doing here so early?" she spoke. "You usually don't come to us until the day before the snow starts."

"Mistress Bertha! Well, the storm forced me to change my trade route so I'm extra early than usual. Mistress Camicazi it's good to see you, but whatever is Master Hiccup doing on Bog territory? And why are there dragons flying around everywhere and not attacking?" Johann was always eager for new information and Bertha looked at me before turning back to Johann in defeat.

"Johann, Hiccup is here in service to me and the Bogs. He helped us with the dragons and is staying with us for some time." It wasn't really a lie or the whole truth either, but Johann would have to settle with it. He looked a bit nervous around the dragons, but other than that, he was perfectly fine with the explanation given to him and the dragons flying overhead. He shrugged his shoulders and invited us onto the ship to browse. He went below deck to retrieve some items, and the three of us released a breath we didn't realize we were holding.

Camicazi turned to Bertha in concern. "What if he tells Stoick of Hiccup being here on Bog territory mom?"

Bertha just shrugged her shoulders. "And what would Stoick do? Attack or threaten to break off the treaty with us? He wouldn't dare risk such a move. If he attacked us in trying to get Hiccup back, he and the Hairy Hooligans would be obliterated. We have the finest sword fighters in the archipelago and have a larger army and ships, he wouldn't risk it. And even if the treaty was broken off, we could survive perfectly on our own. We only do a treaty with the Hairy Hooligans for their sake, not our own."

I was shocked by her last words. "Really?"

"Really." She confirmed. "We have double, nearly triple, the resources Berk has because our environment isn't as limited to the cold like Berk is. Our population is nearly four times the size and Johann gives me new items most of the time that foreign tribes or places beyond the archipelago crave from us, that's why we have such a rich and prosperous village. Some of our trees produce a sap that is used as a sweetener for food that gives us an edge in wealth. The Meatheads live in a densely forested area where they have the best wood that's used for most ships and armadas throughout the archipelago. The Outcasts have the high numbers for a large army and the Berserkers have the largest armada that nobody would dare challenge. We create the best weapons and fighters and Berk is mainly a fishing village that provides food to neighboring tribes. We have a various amount of animals that survive each year so food isn't that much of a problem here. Each tribe plays their role perfectly: the Outcasts may raid every tribe, but they don't attack us too much because we brew the best fighters. The Meatheads give wood to all the tribes for ships, supplies, and more, and in return they get weapons and food from everywhere else, especially Berk. The Berserkers give us the stones we use for building and in return they get high quality swords. Berk benefits the most from the circle of trade that happens because of the lack of resources and vulnerability. It's as simple as that."

"Whoa, I never knew that."

"Honestly, I'm not that surprised. Anytime I would ask of you, Stoick would write short and clipped responses and ask more of the new shipment of swords. Despite having a son, he was more involved with the village than you. 'A Chief's first duty is to its people', he would tell me when I criticized him. Ha! I'm a single parent as well and I know everything that goes on in the village, without ignoring my own child and denying her love."

"You asked for me? Why?"

"Why not? I always wanted to know how you would turn out when you grew up. You were always an interesting child when you played with Camicazi at the Thing on Berk all those years ago. Even if your upbringing wasn't all that great, you still grew up to be an intelligent and caring person, Hiccup, don't let anyone take that from you. It's a rare thing you see in today's cold world." She winked at me and Johann had come back on deck with some boxes.

"Mistress Camicazi! I have the usual beads for you. I have ten jars this time with new colors. You should have seen the place where they make them, it was so big, bold, and colorful! When the storm hit, I had to make sure all the Bog's items were packaged carefully because you guys are my most valued customers. This reminds me of the time – "

"Johann, as much as we appreciate your tales, I think we should get our stuff now so we don't have to hold you up from your next stop. Wouldn't you agree?" Bertha laughed. She had interrupted him, and I was pretty sure Camicazi was thankful for that to, since Johann took forever with his tales. Johann had given Camicazi her ten jars of beads, and she paid him with a bag of silver. Bertha had grabbed some bundles of fabric and fur, while I got some new journals, charcoal and squid ink. Bertha had paid with both gold and silver while I paid in silver. We walked off Johann's boat and wished him a safe journey. Bertha invited him to get some food and drink, but he didn't have time since the storm threw him off course. Bertha had left for the seamstress so her clothes could be made, while Camicazi and I walked back to the house with our stuff.

"Do you think Johann would tell Stoick that I'm here with you guys?" I spoke. We were inside now and I was leaning on her doorframe as she put her new beads on her table. When she finished, she turned to me with a thinking look on her face.

"Maybe, maybe not." She started "but Johann has a big mouth so I wouldn't be surprised if he does so. And you heard my mom; the Hairy Hooligans need us more than we need them. They wouldn't do anything drastic that would hinder the treaty they have set up with us, so don't worry." Even though everyone reassured me, I still was anxious if anyone from Berk would come here and find me. Camicazi saw my nervousness and cupped my face with her hands. I met her blue eyes that shined with determination and love for me. "Stop it. Get rid of all those thoughts about those crappy Hooligans and focus on your future Hiccup, you and I both know that you'll be here with us for some years." I blushed at her actions and words, but before I could do anything else, Camicazi ripped her hands from my face and her own was turning red. I turned around to see Valerie and Zyon who looked amused over Camicazi and i.

"Well don't you guys look cozy, if we leave and come back, are we going to find the two of you in bed?" Valerie spoke. She had a smirk on her face and Camicazi looked like she wanted to slap her. Zyon just rolled his eyes and put a hand on Valerie's shoulder as a warning.

"Back off Val, we came here to tell Camicazi and Hiccup about what happened, not torture the both of them." He spoke.

"You take the fun out of everything Zyon." Valerie just shrugged her shoulders and moved his arm from her. "Destin and Dalla found something interesting you guys should see, hurry up, it's about to get dark." Camicazi and I moved from each other as fast as possible, but we sent each other lingering stares as we flew towards the beach where Destin and Dalla were waiting for us.

"What did you find that was so enchanting Destin? As long as it's not another Changewing egg, I couldn't care less." Camicazi spoke.

"It's not a matter of what, but who Cam, take a look you guys." Dalla spoke. We moved closer to a wrecked boat that was resting on the beach of Bog territory. When I looked inside, I was shocked to see a girl my age all alone and by herself. I shook her gently to see if she was still with us, and she immediately woke up with my touch, and scooted away in fear.

If Camicazi was the sun, then this girl was the moon. She had pale skin and the blackest hair possible. Her green eyes shined with fear and something else, but I couldn't tell what. Destin offered her some water before Toothless poked his head in to see what the commotion was all about, scaring her. I reassured her everything was fine and helped her out of the fallen ship. She wore green like me, but her clothes were covered in holes and patches, showing that she came from a not so wealthy village and tribe.

"Sorry for that, he's just curious about new things and people." I apologized to the girl. She nodded in return and I introduced myself. "My name's Hiccup"

"Heather." She spoke. "Nice to meet you Hiccup, and everyone else." Everyone started to introduce themselves and their dragons, and Heather looked on in amazement. "How did you get them to do that?"

"It's quite a story." Camicazi spoke up. "So Heather, how did you end up on Bog territory?"

"My parents and I were on our way home until we got attacked by pirates, but then a storm hit and I got separated from them. The last thing I remember is a storm and my parent's scream." Heather's face instantly fell and I wrapped my arm around her shoulder in comfort.

"I'm so sorry about that." I told her. She smiled at me and I led her to Toothless. She got on my back and held on tight to me. Camicazi though, was still next to Heather's boat, staring at it in curiosity. We were all on our dragons waiting for her and she hopped onto Shadow in haste.

"Don't forget about our morning flight tomorrow Hiccup." She spoke. She smirked at me and tossed her golden waves back, as she led us back home.

The sky was starting to darken and when we all landed it was night. Camicazi and I quickly introduced Bertha to Heather, who agreed to let her stay until we could find her parents and get them home safely before the snow starts. I showed Heather her room and she thanked me for the hospitality, though it was Camicazi and Bertha she reassured more than me. I went to bed with Toothless following me in my room, missing the stares that Camicazi and Bertha sent my way.

Camicazi's POV

 _Pirates!? There's something fishy about that Heather, I know it!_ When I heard her tale about her and her parents struggle against pirates, I knew something wasn't right. We never get pirates anywhere close to our waters, just Outcasts. How her and her family could get attacked and there's no damage to the boat? This pirate tale sounds like a load of crap to me; the boat didn't have any damage or symbols from where she came from. I helped mom clear off the table from dinner and sat down on the couch, wrapped in my favorite shawl near the one of the hearths in the house. Mom suddenly plopped down next to me and ran her fingers through my golden locks.

"Camicazi what do you think of the new dragon that we have?" she spoke out. I knew exactly what she was doing. We Bogs are trained to never give the slightest information to the enemy. In order to make sure no enemy would ever break us, speaking in code with hidden meanings was perfect.

"Sneaky, but what can you expect from a Changewing, they're full of secrets, especially with their ability to blend in with any environment." I spoke.

"As to I." She gave me a hard look. "Keep watch over the Changewing, we don't know what our lovely Shadow would do if she got her hands on some fresh fish _." Keep an eye on Heather and make sure she doesn't find out any of our secrets._ I'm glad she doesn't trust Heather so easily like Hiccup and Destin do, but their guys, they naturally hang onto the words of a beauty.

"Don't worry, I will." I said determinedly. Mom nodded to me and went upstairs for bed. I doused the hearth and let the steam entrap me before heading to my room and sleeping, wondering how Heather was going to affect things here with us Bogs.

I woke up in the middle of the night, around two. I heard noise and saw Heather leaving her room and running down the stairs quietly. I had to give it to the girl, she had balls for trying to sneak around on one of the most daring islands that trained the most deadliest swordfighters and spies. She didn't see or hear me, and I watched her from the shadows until she disappeared from my sight. As I left to return to my bed, my thoughts were filled with Heather, who brought more secrets with her every second she stayed in my home.

 _Morning_

I woke up rested, feeling that Heather was going to slip up soon, like any person with a secret. I cleaned myself up and changed out of my usual outfits and into something different. My usual thick and untamed wavy hair was somewhat tame in a braid that ran down my back with a few curls sticking out. My usual red dress was replaced with a long sleeved dark blue tunic and tan leggings with a black fur vest that matched with my boots. I threw on a green beaded necklace and beads, before grabbing my sheathed sword and slinging it on before leaving the house. I grabbed a basket of fish for Shadow who eagerly ate her breakfast, while I waited for Hiccup to come back from his morning shift in the forge. After waiting for at least thirty minutes, I hopped on Shadow and flew down to the forge, ready to give Hiccup a piece of my mind for keeping me waiting. But when I got to the forge, all I saw was Vinnie and Sage repairing saddles and making supplies. Vinnie noticed me first and gave me a warm smile in greeting.

"Morning Camicazi! If you're looking for Hiccup you just missed him a while ago." He told me. "You should've seen the boy, so happy."

On the inside, I wanted to scream and curse at Hiccup, but I just showed a calm expression on the outside. Sage came from the back of the forge with some tools in her hands before setting them down on the table. She gave me a smile before entering our conversation.

"He came here early to fix Toothless' saddle before some girl came and helped him out. Hiccup was so happy with the results, they jumped on Toothless and haven't been back since. He should be heading to the Academy soon, I think."

"This girl, pale skin with a dark braid. Tattered green clothes, am I right?"

"That's her."

"Heather." I whispered under my breath. I left the forge immediately and called for Shadow. She instantly appeared and we went to the Academy right now. When we landed, the others were all there laying against their dragons lazily, waiting for Hiccup to show up. When I asked for Zyon, Valerie told me he was trying to get Dark Star situated on the island so everyone can get used to two Night Furies here.

"Are we gonna train, or what?" Destin spoke. Sparky and Mystie were taking a nap while Destin and Dalla were setting up targets around the place. I could hear laughter from the sky and we all looked up to see Hiccup and Heather riding Toothless above.

"I don't know, ask Hiccup. He seems a little busy giving Heather a ride on Toothless." I said bitterly. The girls took notice of my tone, while Destin just rolled his eyes.

"Looks like someone's jealous." He teased. I unsheathed my sword and threw it at Destin's head, but he ducked out the way and glared at me.

"I am not jealous." I walked over to get my sword and sheathed it back in place. Toothless came down from the sky and Hiccup hopped down and helped Heather off. Toothless came by my side and warbled in greeting while I just gave him a quick rub on the head. He was the smartest dragon here and could feel my anger with his master. He moved away from me and went to play with Shadow.

"Top 'o the morning, class! How's everyone doing today?" Hiccup said to everyone. I just glared at him and waited for him to look my way. He had a smile on his face when he looked at me, but I just glared even harder at him.

"Oh! Nice of you to show up." I said. He looked at me in confusion before realizing his mistake.

"What? Oh, we were supposed to meet up. I'm so sorry." I just rolled my eyes at him and turned to Heather who was standing innocently next to him.

"So, Heather? Sleep well?" I tapped my foot, waiting for her to talk.

"Very well. Thank you, Camicazi." I glared harder at her. She turned to Hiccup and flashed him a smile.

"So... This is it? Your Dragon Training Academy." She smiled even wider and Hiccup seemed to enjoy her attention. I was about to take her head off before Valerie and the girls gave me a warning look. Hiccup was oblivious and Destin was just enjoying the show that he was given by Hiccup, Heather, and I.

"We've been training the dragons to become part of our everyday lives." Hiccup explained. "I revised the Book of Dragons to show how to train various types of dragons, instead of killing them." Heather's eyes seemed to light up at that and I knew right then and there, that she was a threat to us.

"Can I see it?" she asked.

"No. We just started to train dragons so it's not really useful for newcomers. Plus, you have to have permission to become a dragon rider from Chieftess Bertha, my mom. Excuse us." I grabbed Hiccup and shoved him into the corner, ready to yell at him.

"Hiccup, what the heck are you doing!?" I started. "We should not be showing her all our dragon secrets."

"Camicazi, it's fine."

"It's not fine! I just don't trust her. You shouldn't either. You can't just go spilling Bog secrets to any pretty face!"

"Well, I do and you should trust me." He walked away from me and started our lesson. I could've ordered Hiccup to stop lessons today and ban Heather from the Academy, but I wasn't going to pull rank and let Heather know I was on to her, so I just played along. It took a lot of self control on my part, but I went through training and fought the temptation to slap Hiccup for his idiocy and Heather for her sneakiness.

By the time training was over, I was exhausted and Hiccup offered to show the lovely Heather more about dragons, which she eagerly accepted. Destin left for his shift at the leather shop and left the Sparky and Mysite for Dallas. It was just us girls now and knowing that Heather would be with Hiccup for the rest of day, I spoke freely.

"Please tell me none of my girls believed that Little Miss Innocent act." I sneered and Valerie laughed.

"Freya no! She said. "There's something sneaky about her, I just know it."

"What did you mean about the sleep comment Camicazi?" Palva asked.

"She was running around late last night around the island."

"She must be meeting with someone then, if she got in and out that fast. Keep your cool Camicazi, she can't know that we're on to her." Dalla reasoned with me. I listened to Dalla and the girls kept an eye on Heather for me as I helped my mom with a Council meeting. Night quickly approached and Valerie and I walked back to my house after the meeting. Our parents sent us on our way so they can speak about other matters. When we came inside, I saw Hiccup giving Toothless his dinner, and I sent a quick glare to Hiccup that he missed. Valerie and I looked at each other in surprise when we realized that Heather wasn't with Hiccup. We ran upstairs and checked her room and saw that she wasn't in there. We heard movement in Hiccup's room and quickly moved inside without Heather noticing. She was looking at the Book of Dragons, flipping through the pages quickly, trying to absorb the information as fast as possible.

"Monstrous Nightmare... the Gronckle... here we go. The Deadly Nadder. Piercing spines, loyal, powerful..." Heather spoke aloud. I felt Valerie tense up by my side before she opened her mouth.

"Intelligent, and, of course, deadly." Valerie finished for her. We glared at her before I spoke.

"What do you think you're doing?" I demanded. Before I could do or say anything else, Hiccup came inside and noticed the tense situation. He looked at three of us before seeing the Book of Dragons in her hand. His face was full of confusion.

"Well, are you gonna say something?" Valerie said. I could tell Heather was quickly analyzing the situation and returned to her Little Miss Innocent act.

"I am so, so sorry, Hiccup. I was cleaning up your room and I-I found the book. I couldn't help myself." She said.

"It's okay, Heather." He said.

"It's okay? What do you mean "okay"? She's reading the Book of Dragons." I yelled. I wanted to slap him right now for his extreme stupidity.

"Camicazi, come on. Lighten up." He told me.

"Are you serious Hiccup? She's the one sneaking around! Looking at... our stuff!" Valerie stepped in. Hiccup looked surprised at that.

"Really? Sneaking around? Wha-what are you talking about?" he said.

"She's talking about last night. Sneaking around past the house." I tried to reasoned.

"That was me. I couldn't sleep so... I went for a walk. I was having terrible nightmares." Heather spoke.

"I can imagine." He said

Is this really happening?" I hissed out.

"Okay, you guys, that's enough."

"You're right, Hiccup. _It is."_ Valerie and I walked out of Hiccup's room and into mine. Valerie was seething more than I was and was pacing back and forth in anger.

"Why was she reading about the Nadder section? You don't think she's gonna hurt Stormfly?" she said.

"She probably will, lock Stormfly in her stable tonight and keep watch on her" I ordered. Normally, I don't pull rank over anyone, but Heather was going to drive me mad before the night ended. Valerie left and I refused dinner from my mom. Hiccup had the book of Dragons and was editing a few things at the table while mom cleared the table. Her eyes met mine and she gave me hard stare.

"Working on it" I mouthed to her. She nodded at me and went upstairs. I went into my room, pretending to be asleep as the hours pass. I was starting to feel tired and before I could shut my eyes, I heard noise and was alert immediately. I saw Heather running from our house toward Valerie's and I instantly chased her.

She was in front of Stormfly's stable holding a piece of chicken. She didn't hear me as I watched her from behind. I felt someone's presence and saw Dalla and Palva in the shadows watching Heather and Valerie in the stable behind Stormfly.

"Approach the Deadly Nadder slowly." Heather said. Stormfly instantly reacted. Her spines on alert and her wings raised high. "Spines. Just like the book said. Stay in the blind spot..." She fed her the piece of chicken in her hand and petted Stormfly as if she was her own. I saw that Valerie was about to lose it, and motioned for everyone to come out of their hiding spots.

"What are you doing with my dragon?!" Valerie yelled. I would tell her to keep it down, but if this was Shadow, I would've done the same thing. Heather jumped from Valerie's voice and noticed that she was surrounded. She knew she was caught and let down her act.

"Huh. You really like to sneak up on people." She said to me. _Finally she reveals her true colors!_

"Only the ones who deserve it. And don't give us your innocent routine, we Bogs can see through anyone's lies." I said.

"It was cute that you thought you had us fooled. How long did you think you could keep it up?" Dalla spoke.

"I wouldn't think of it. You guys are way too smart for that, especially you Camicazi." We practically growled at her and Stormfly nudged Heather in a friendly manner. Heather smirked and petted Stormfly. "I think your dragon likes me Valerie. See you later, Stormfly." Heather left us and went back to the house. I turned to my girls and Valerie was cursing Heather's name to the Gods. Palva was twirling a strand of her dark hair and muttering to herself, while Dalla was pacing.

"So what are we gonna do?"

"Follow the smirking bitch, that's for sure!" We followed her to the beach and we waited for her. She sat on her "ship" and was looking out to the ocean. We looked at each other in curiosity until we saw a boat approaching from the fog on the sea. Heather rushed to the men and when they came off the boat, we were all shocked. Savage and an Outcast goonie were speaking to Heather.

"What have you learned about the dragons?" he asked.

"I've learned a lot. But there's something else. Something that's going to make Alvin very happy."

"I'm listening."

"They have a book. A Book of Dragons. It's got everything in it. Everything Alvin could hope to learn about controlling dragons."

"Where is this book?"

"I don't have it. But, I will! I promise. I just, I just need a little more time."

Alvin doesn't like to be kept waiting. He's about to return from Berk tomorrow night. You have until then."

"Yes, of course." Heather said. Savage and the other Outcast went back onto their boat and Heather saw them off. We ran back to the village and I ordered the girls to return back home and get some sleep.

I ran back home and ripped open Hiccup's door in anger. Toothless saw me and just went back to sleep while his master was still sleeping in his bed. I stomped over to his side and tore off his blanket. He immediately woke up and looked at me in confusion.

"Get up! Heather is working for the Outcasts and is planning on taking the Book of Dragons for Alvin."

"What? That's crazy."

"It is and it's true."

"Heather is in her room asleep."

"No, she's not. And I'll prove it." I rushed into Heather's room with Hiccup, and Heather was in bed.

 _NO. NO. NO. NO. NO!_

She turned in her bed and looked at us in a sleepy fashion.

"Is something wrong you guys?" she yawned. I wanted to throttle her right then and there, but footsteps from behind forced me to bite my tongue. We all turned to see my mom in her night dress and a light blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She looked at the situation and sighed.

"Go back to bed everyone. It's too late for arguments." She said. Heather snuffed out her candle and went back to sleep. Hiccup just went to bed without hearing me out and my mom gave me a fierce glare. When mom closed Heather's door, she dragged me to her room and sat me down on her bed.

"Are you insane!?" she hissed out in barely suppressed anger. "You need to keep your cool and not give anything away, have you forgotten everything I taught you?"

"She already knows that we know."

" _We?"_

"The girls and I caught her befriending Stormfly and she's working for the Outcasts."

"Damn." Mom paced back and forth in the room before turning back to me. "What is she doing?"

"She wants the Book of Dragons for Alvin, so he can control dragons. Savage also said that Alvin was returning from Berk. . ." Mom froze and her face was turning red with anger. She slammed her fist on the wall, which was already turning red and bruising. "Make sure that girl doesn't leave the house tomorrow and watch her like a hawk, I'll deal with Alvin so don't worry. Go to bed and wake up as early as possible." I left mom's room and went into my own. I tore my clothes off and threw it on the floor in anger. I clenched my hands around the jar of beads sitting on my crafts table, before throwing it against the wall, shattering it and the hundreds of beads rolling around the ground. I just threw on an oversized sleeping tunic before going to bed with Heather's smirking face, which made sleep even harder to get.

 _Late morning_

I woke up to see the sun shining high in the sky and I immediately shot out of bed. Shit! I ran downstairs to see my mom coming back in the house from a meeting. She looked at me in horror since I just got up instead of much earlier to watch Heather.

"Please tell me you didn't just wake up Camicazi!" she said. My silence was her answer. "Damn! When I left early this morning, she was still in bed so . . ." she didn't finish her sentence, since Hiccup came into the kitchen with a look of worry in his eyes.

"Hey, Camicazi, have you seen the book?" he said. He blushed at my appearance but I didn't care what he thought of me right now, I just wanted to make sure that Heather wasn't gone with the Book of Dragons.

"You have to be more specific, Hiccup." Mom demanded.

"The Book of Dragons. I can't find it anywhwere." He told her. Before anyone said anything else, the front door was kicked open and Valerie rushed inside with anger with the girls and Destin. Valerie looked livid.

"She's gone!" Valerie yelled.

"Heather?" Hiccup asked.

"No! Stormfly! "Little Miss Innocent" stole my dragon!" Valerie was shaking with anger and Destin attempted to calm her down, but was rewarded with a punch to the stomach.

"That's it!" Mom yelled. We jumped in surprise to her outburst and even I was a bit scared of my mom for a quick second. "Find that snake of a girl! Now! Bring her back and get that damn book before Alvin gets his hands on it." She ran outside and was yelling for the guards to lock down the entire island so no dragon or person came off. I quickly ran upstairs and threw on some clothes before making my way outside where the others were waiting. Valerie hopped onto the back of Toothless, and everyone was making their way to the sky. We were flying as fast as possible and Hiccup was trying to apologize at the same time, but Valerie and I just yelled at him to shut it.

"I really hate to be the voice of doom, but we just crossed into Outcast waters!" Destin shouted. The jagged rocks in the water and figure of Stormfly ahead, made all of us fly even faster.

"It's Heather. And is she ever gonna be sorry she helped me with Toothless' speed." Hiccup spoke. I'll get you in close." Hiccup positioned Toothless above Stormfly and Valerie jumped and landed on Stormfly, angering Heather. Heather stared in shock and fear, before pushing Valerie off, making her land on Stormfly's tail.

"Stormfly! Tail flip!" Valerie ordered. She landed back on Stormfly's saddle, punching and hitting Heather, while trying to get the Book of Dragons. The Outcasts were ready for us, they had launchers of fire coming and we were dodging each one until Valerie knocked Heather off Stormfly with the book.

"I'm going after Heather!" I told Hiccup. Palva and Valerie followed me while Hiccup went after the book with Destin and Dalla. Heather was screaming as she was plummeting to the cold sea, and as much as I was tempted to let her continue falling, I knew Mom would kill me if I did so. I was getting closer to Heather and the fear in her eyes was there, from seeing me or falling to the sea, I didn't know. I grabbed her and held a tight grip on her while Palva and Valerie flew to my sides, caging Heather in. I could see Hiccup and Toothless getting closer to the book, but a fireball burned Hiccup's arm, causing Toothless to stop mid-flight and turn so Hiccup wouldn't get burned anymore. He rejoined us, and slumped in defeat.

"I was too late. Alvin has the Book of Dragons" he told us. The anger that crossed all of our faces was nothing, to the fear that was shown on Heather's face as her fear filled green eyes turned into my cold, blue ones.

"Oh Heather, you are so fucked." I said.

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A/N: The final part will be posted this weekend and i'm trying to get back to my usual Saturday/Sunday posts, but it might be a little hard with me attending classes. I'm going to post a poll next week so check that out. The third part will deal with Heather Report Part 2, Hiccup's training to be a Bog, and Berk. There's going to be a lot of action for the next chapter, so look forward to that. Usually, i would give you a long A/N, but i am working on so many things right now that need my attention, so just comment and leave your opinions in the reviews. Next chapter will be posted this weekend.


	12. Swords, Dragons, and Secrets - Part 3

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to all my readers who have stuck by me since the beginning and had the greatest patience after me not updating for at least a month! Enjoy and review!

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Camicazi's POV

It was cute how she was running away again, trying to get to the beach and go to Outcast island. She caused me and my people hell by lying and causing the Book of Dragons falling into Alvin's hands, there was no way in she was coming off Bog territory. When she got to the beach, she caught sight of the boat, before I ordered Shadow to melt it. It broke and Heather jumped back in fear. Shadow was behind her, blended into the sand and I walked out of the forest with my sword held in my hands. She looked scared and I snapped my fingers for Shadow to show herself. She revealed herself and growled menacingly at Heather with acid dripping out of her mouth.

"Give it up, Heather." I smirked. "We have dragons and the most deadly fighters. You can break out of jail as many times as you want, but you're not getting off this island!" Shadow grabbed Heather with her paws and I hopped onto her back, directing us towards the prison. My mom and five other guards were there, glaring up in the sky, directing their hatred toward Heather. When I landed, Shadow released Heather and she was immediately grabbed by the guards, and dragged back to her cell. Mom and I followed them as they threw her back in and walked away.

"Camicazi and Chieftess Bertha, please listen. I know you and everyone is angry for what I did, but I need to tell you the truth!" she tried to reasoned. I gripped my sword even tighter and gave her a death glare.

"Do tell me Heather, what could you say to me or my mother, that could make us believe anything that comes out of your mouth?"

"Listen, Alvin has my parents and if I don't get back to Outcast Island, they're going to end up dead by his hands. That's why I had to do all those things, you have to believe me!"

"Oh, yeah? What happened to the "pirates"?"

"There were never any pirates. I made it all up. But, I had to. I needed you to trust me."

"Well, guess what? We don't. Not anymore." I sheathed my sword and looked up to my mom, who hadn't said anything at all. She had no emotion on her face, and only stared at Heather before turning back to me. She gave me a look before glancing back at Heather, and walking out of the dark prison. I glared at Heather one last time before running to catch up to my mom. She was outside and ordering the prison guards to keep a closer eye on Heather before hopping onto her dragon and flying back home. I jumped onto Shadow and followed her home as well. We put our dragons in their stables and walked into the house. Mom just walked towards the corner where her books of laws and documents concerning other tribes were. I stared at her curiously until she turned and gave me a hard look.

"Camicazi, what did you think of Heather's actions?"

"Are you serious?" I cocked my hip and tapped my foot angrily. Mom just rolled her eyes at me as she waited for my answer. "Heather is nothing more than a lying snake that should just disappear." Mom nodded and motioned for me to continue. "She made a mockery of our ways coming to our home and using her charm and beauty to get what she wanted, and made all of us women look weak."

She pulled out a map and walked towards the table laying it out completely. I looked at her in confusion. When I looked at it more closely, and saw that it was a map of Outcast Island, I stared at my mom at even more confusion.

"Using Heather, Alvin created a spy to steal our secrets and caused harm to our people. He knows that this is an act of war, and has made the first move, so we must strike back." She spoke to me. My eyes widened at that. _War hasn't touched our lands in years!_ "I will not let my people be harmed in these foolish acts by some idiotic men who think we are weak. Any threads of mock friendship we had with the Outcasts is permanently severed. I need you and Hiccup to make up some strategies and plans for attacking Alvin, the more he has the Book of Dragons, the weaker we are by each passing second."

I nodded in response and left to go and get Hiccup from the forge. Ever since we came back from Outcast Island last night, I ignored Hiccup and his apologies, not wanting to hear anything from him until I cleared my head. I was pissed that he didn't listen to me and heed my warnings of Heather and he was trying to make things right, but I didn't care. I told Shadow to land I hopped off of her, heading inside of the forge. Surprisingly, Vinnie and Sage weren't there and only Hiccup and Toothless. Toothless raised his head from his paws and warbled a greeting to me and I gave him a quick rub on his head in return. Hiccup was sitting at a table in the forge scribbling in one of his new journals and muttering words. Hiccup didn't notice me and when I called out his name, he didn't respond. When I moved to the other side of the table and put my hand on his shoulder, he jolted and looked up to me with his green eyes. My heart almost broke when my eyes met his. Even though we just came back from Outcast Island last night, Hiccup looked completely different. He had dark circles under his eyes and his face sagged with disappointment. But it was his piercing green eyes that stopped me from breathing. His eyes held anger, pain, sadness, and so much more.

"Hiccup?" I whispered out his name in uncertainty and pain. He gave me a faint smile and tried to cover his emotions, but it was too late for that.

"I'm so sorry." He spoke out. I sighed and slammed my hands on the table. He jerked and Toothless raised his head in concern staring at Hiccup and me while I just tried to get my quick anger to disappear, but failed to.

"Stop it." I hissed out. I gave him a fierce glare and he seemed to shrink back in fear. "Heather may have tricked you, but it's not your fault. She would've done whatever it took to get the Book, she probably would've spilled blood."

"No she wouldn't have." I set my mouth in a thin line and quirked an eyebrow at Hiccup.

"And how would you know that?" My hands were on my hips and i tapped my foot, waiting for an answer from him.

"I just know that she wouldn't have done something this crazy without an explanation!"

"Hiccup. Alvin is an impatient man and would do _anything_ to get what he wanted. She could've killed someone or caused some extreme damage here on his orders."

"It's suicide to do something this crazy, she must've known that."

"Someone would say what we're doing on Bog-territory is suicidal and crazy. Yet here we are training dragons to live with us. Heather is just someone who would have killed and been glad she did it in the end as long as she got what she wants."

"I understand that Heather lied and tricked us all, but she must have had a reason to do so."

"My Gods, Hiccup!" I turned from him and paced around the forge in anger and I could feel his green eyes following me as I walked around. I turned back to him and glared hard. "Why do you keep on defending her!?"

"Why do you hate her!?" I paused at his words. I didn't expect him to say that at all. Toothless had moved next to Hiccup and looked warily at me. "Let's just take away the factors that she stole the Book of Dragons and lied to us. Let's say she was some new Bog girl who just moved here and wanted to learn about dragons. Would you still hate her?"

I really wanted to slap him really hard now. "Man Hiccup, you really are dense for someone so smart. We Bogs may be trained not to care sometimes, but that doesn't mean I don't have feelings that need to be considered to!" Before Hiccup could open his mouth, I stomped out of the forge and paused before the entryway. "We need to think of plans to get the Book of Dragons back using our dragons. Hurry up." I didn't stay to see his reaction as I slammed the door and left him to his thoughts alone.

Hiccup's POV

I was still in the forge as Camicazi left me alone with Toothless. From the way I was treated on Berk, I decided to give everyone a chance no matter who they were or what they looked like. I always assumed the best of people before making haste accusations and decisions. I never wanted to put people down, I would rather reason with them first then harm them in any way. Maybe Camicazi was right, I probably shouldn't have trusted Heather so easily, but there must be a reason she would've done something as crazy as this. I turned to Toothless and he must have seemed to have read my mind, and stepped back.

"Come on Toothless, Heather must have had a reason to do something as insane as this. I need to talk to Bertha." Toothless still didn't budge. "I'll give you an extra basket of fish tonight if you help me." That got his attention. He nudged me out of the forge and I laughed at him. When we were outside, I hopped onto his back and we launched into the air. I could see the layout of the large village, and when I spotted Bertha near the docks counting supplies, I instantly directed Toothless towards that area. I hopped off of Toothless and walked towards Bertha. I got some greetings from those at the docks, but I ignored them and went straight to Bertha. She motioned for me to hold on and I stood there as she finished her work with the fishermen. She pulled her vest even tighter as some wind blew.

"Hiccup?" she spoke. "What are you doing here? Didn't Camicazi tell you to help her make up some strategies for the attack on Outcast Island?"

I nodded at her and she frowned at me. She took me by my shoulder and led me to the far side of the docks and gave a quick pat to Toothless who nudged her in greeting. She picked up a fish from a nearby basket and threw it up in the air for him, but her Nadder intercepted it and ate it. Toothless pouted and we laughed at the two of them, before Bertha's Nadder regurgitated it for Toothless, who gladly slurped up the chewed up fish. Bertha and I shook with disgust and she turned back to me, waiting for me to speak.

"Heather must have a reason for what she did yesterday." I told her. Surprisingly, she didn't say anything, motioning me to continue. "I know how it looks but, Heather wouldn't be able to do all of this without reason! We have to hear her out."

"I know."

"And please don't yell at me and say that – wait what?" I paused in my rant and Bertha just laughed at me.

"I know Heather isn't fully guilty. The minute she came unto the island, I knew she had some secret from the way she was acting. Nobody is that polite Hiccup, believe me. I told Camicazi to keep an eye on her and let's just say her feelings were clouding her judgment so I knew Camicazi would've done something to tip Heather off. So I watched her when she thought I wasn't looking. Heather must have something to lose that Alvin is holding over her. If Heather didn't have anything to lose, she would've killed and harmed anyone that got in her way. Someone who has nothing to lose is ten times more dangerous than someone who does have something to lose."

"Alvin must know by now that Heather is captured, so what are we going to do?"

"We need to go to Heather and see what she has to say about this." I nodded at that and we called for our dragons, hopping on them and flying to the prison immediately. I never seen the prison on Bog territory, but it scared me even before I stepped foot inside. The prisons were in an underground cave that seemed to lead on forever. As we walked deeper into the prison, metal bars lined each opening and guards were walking in and out with materials. The only source of light was the torches lined on the walls and the cells were even smaller here. Bertha stopped in front of Heather's cell and she dismissed the guards who were in front of it, before taking a torch and crouching in front of her cell.

"Heather, its Chieftess Bertha and Hiccup, we need to talk." Bertha spoke. Heather revealed herself and I looked sorry for her. Her hair was out her usual braid, tangled and dirty from attempting to escape all the time. Her clothes had even more holes on them before and she had a slight bruise on her cheek. She seemed scared and relieved that it was only Bertha and I, but looked around as if someone else was coming here.

"Camicazi's not here if that's what you're thinking." Heather let out a breath of relief and Bertha mumbled something about being jealous which I frowned at.

"Heather, Hiccup and I think you have a reason for what you did in these past few days." Heather nodded vigorously, but not speaking, so Bertha could finish talking. "I don't know why you did what you did, but i would like to know why. Now."

Heather clutched her horn on the side of her waist, which I never noticed, before looking at us with a serious expression on her face. "There was a storm some nights ago, but my family and I decided to sail through it anyway because the ice was starting to set where we were. So we set sail and the storm had gotten worse. The air was freezing and the rain wouldn't stop, the next thing I remembered was going overboard with my parents into the cold sea, thinking we were going to die. When I woke up, I found out I was on Outcast Island by myself before I got captured by Savage who brought me to Alvin. Alvin was angered by how Camicazi and Hiccup beat him on one of his ships and escaped with Toothless. He wanted to learn how to control dragons to get revenge on you and all of the Bogs. So he told me to invade Bog territory and get whatever information to control dragons. And when I found out about the Book of Dragons, I knew that would be the key to me and my parent's freedom."

We were silent as Heather finished speaking the truth about her actions these past few days. Before I could say anything, Bertha spoke up.

"You are the most foolish person I have ever met in my life. If this was a tribe full of men, they would have killed you or took you as a bedwarmer for your actions. The minute you stepped onto my lands, you acted and took advantage of the kindness we have shown you. How do you know that Alvin won't just kill your parent's now that he has the Book of Dragons? How do you know that you wouldn't have been killed if you managed to come off the island and return to him? You don't. Alvin has done cruel and vile things for less, you must've known that. He is not to be trifled with at all. But at the same time, I can understand your actions. Family is very important and I would've done anything if Camicazi was taken or threatened by any of my enemies, no matter the risk."

Heather hung her head in shame and silence enveloped the prison.

"But that's why I'm letting you out." Heather's head snapped up in surprise and I smiled in response. Bertha snapped her fingers and a guard came and unlocked Heather's cell door. She stepped out and Heather's eyes widened. "You're going to help us defeat Alvin, get the Book of Dragons back, and help you reunite with your parent's. We both know that you wouldn't fail us again."

I think Heather didn't realize the extreme consequence if we failed in getting the book back. I lead Heather out of the prison, but missed Bertha's hard look and last words.

"Freya, help us!"

* * *

Camicazi's POV

After I left the forge, i was on Shadow's back instantly and we flew fast to the academy. When we landed, I was slightly surprised to not see Hiccup there, but everyone else training the dragons in fighting. Even Zyon and Dark Star were there. Palva was ordering BoneCrusher to fly and he released a stream of fire, and then Stormfly shot some of her spines, combing both dragons' strengths to create a weapon. The fire spines landed near Destin's head, and he shook out of fear, before glaring at Palva.

"Hey, that was a little close, Palva!" he yelled.

"Quit whining, Destin!" she said. She jumped of BoneCrusher and landed on the ground perfectly. I shook my head at them and walked over to Zyon. It was still a bit weird seeing another Night Fury on the island, but I got used to it. It was kind of cool seeing how the Night Fury's resembled their riders. Hiccup was kind and protective over people he cared for like Toothless and Zyon was dark and bold, but also mysterious like Dark Star. He gave me a quick smile and I nodded at him in response.

"Still pissed at Hiccup?" he said.

"That easy to tell, huh?"

"You need to forgive him; he's racking his brain of what he did wrong, even though it's really obvious."

"When Hiccup can find out what he did wrong, then I'll talk to him."

"You guys live in the same house, how can you not talk to him?"

"It's easy to do Zyon, take notes and maybe you'll learn."

"Oh, and do tell me what will I learn, oh great Camicazi." He leaned against the wall and gave me a broad smile while I leaned closer to him. If anyone else who didn't know Zyon and I's relationship as a surrogate brother and sister, we would've looked like lovers to them. "Please tell."

Before I could say or do anything at all, the whistle of a Night Fury could be heard, and we all looked up to see Hiccup and Toothless coming down from the sky. Hiccup hopped off of Toothless and had a broad smile on his face and I raised an eyebrow at that. We just fought and now he's smiling? I smirked at that.

"Zyon, how about we have some fun?" I whispered. He gave me an odd look, before laughing silently. I jumped onto his back and Dark Star glared at me before moving over to Toothless who eagerly bothered him with chirps and nudges. I held on tight to Zyon as he walked across the academy to meet with Hiccup and everyone else. Everyone was silently laughing at our actions while Hiccup looked slightly pissed, but he didn't hide it well.

"You're late Hiccup." Zyon spoke. "We already started working on some techniques. Where were you?"

"Yeah Hiccup, where were you?" I said lightly. I could see his muscles tense and he didn't want to answer so I raised a hand, to stop him from talking. He looked relieved at that, but I rolled my eyes at him. Jumping off Zyon's back, I moved to stand next to Hiccup and everyone looked at us, either in amusement between the two of us or seriousness. "We created some great techniques and battle strategies. Even Zyon here decided to spare himself a few minutes and come and help."

"Nice, Camicazi." Zyon commented. I winked at him in response and he shoved me playfully.

"Stop flirting or else I'm going to vomit all over the place." Palva spoke.

"At least it'll be an improvement from your boring self." Valerie said.

"Really, and what should I be like, you?"

"Of course not, being me takes work."

"So being self-absorbed, vain, bitchy, and annoying takes work? I don't think so." Valerie's smirk disappeared from her face and she hissed at Palva who quirked an eyebrow as her only reaction. I smiled at the tension between the girls as we all started to slowly back away from the both of them. Stormfly and BoneCrusher were in the air, with Stormfly's spines out and BoneCrusher flaming himself up.

"You guys, cool it." I spoke. Valerie and Palva stopped glaring at each other and instantly Stormfly closed her spines and landed next to Valerie, for the exception of Bone Crusher who was on the ground now, except he still flamed up. "Palva! Calm him down!" She launched herself in the air and tugged on his horns, causing the both of them to fall, except BoneCrusher hummed in content with his horns being tugged like that. I was intrigued by that, but quickly turned my attention to Hiccup who had the same expression on his face as me.

"All right." Hiccup spoke. "Show me what's been planned." I snapped my fingers instantly and everyone got to work. Immediately Shadow camouflaged herself into the walls and we moved to take our positions around the rooms. Instantly Destin and Dalla were in the air with Sparky and Mystie, as Mystie breathed out a spew of green gas. Blinding me, Destin and Dalla moved fast through the gas with their bow and arrows ready to aim. On the other side of the arena, Palva and Valerie were on their respective dragons, ordering them to shoot fire below. Destin and Dalla dodged each stream of fire and Valerie and Palva jumped off their dragons, meeting the siblings on the ground for battle. Instantly Destin and Dalla loosed some arrows, but the girls dodged them like snakes. Valerie even caught a few and threw them at Destin.

Quickly, Destin took on Valerie while Dalla took Palva. Destin instantly threw a punch which Valerie evaded, taking his arm and twisting it back. Destin hissed out in surprise before taking his foot, and kicking her backwards, making her stumble a bit. He moved to attack her again, and before he knew it, she took his arrows and used it against him, slicing his arm. Destin backed away in pain, but before he could do anything else, she slammed her foot into his groin, causing him to buckle, but already he could right himself, she hooked her feet around his neck locking them together and slamming him into the ground.

My mouth dropped at that. I knew the Bogs were strong, but this was a whole different level of strength. Back on Berk, it was just if you looked the Viking part, had the strength, or could use a weapon to the best of your ability, but fighting here is stronger and uses every part of your body to a whole different level. I always wondered why the Bog Burglars beat the Hairy Hooligans during Thawfest or when Things took place on Berk, but seeing them fight in action was a whole different matter. While the Hairy Hooligans just fought to take a person down, the Bog Burglars saw your weakness the minute they laid eyes on you. They were the hunter and you were the prey, if you got caught, you were dead.

Dalla and Palva on the other hand, were like mini-tornadoes bringing destruction and pain everywhere they turned. When Dalla moved on the ground, she shot arrows as her brother did, but hers hit Palva slicing her arm, but Palva paid no mind to it. She moved in fast on Dalla, knocking her to the ground, and disarming her of her bow and arrows. Palva threw a punch hard at Dalla's stomach, causing her to lose air. Dalla recovered fast and she used her height to her advantage, quickly forcing her weight on Palva, making her stumble. I was watching them fight and saw Camicazi using hand signals to direct the dragons into using their fire and talents. It was a sight to see, watching the dragons and all of them work together. Instead of fighting each other, they were side by side, fighting to make my wrongs right. Camicazi clapped her hands once, and everyone ceased their actions. She turned to me for the first time with the expression of confidence instead of anger from the past few days.

"What did you think?" she spoke. Her blue eyes bore into my own and I gave her a warm smile in return.

"It's great, but what about Zyon and i?"

"You and Zyon both have Night Fury's, so you guys will help us in our passage to Outcast Island and cover our backs to make sure nothing happens to us or the dragons. Also, we'll need you guys to take out the launchers, we don't need to take any risks of being set on fire and burned alive."

I nodded in response, after my own shortcomings with the Outcasts catapults. "So, what now?

"Show it to my mom, of course." I instantly put a hand on her shoulder and she seemed content with it, until she remembered she was mad at me, though I still haven't figured out why, and she quickly jumped onto Shadow and headed home. I looked at her retreating figure in shock before turning back to everyone who looked like they were going to wet themselves with laughter. Valerie walked up to me and was failing to hide the large smile that took over her face.

"Hiccup, you have so much to learn about girls, especially us Bogs."

* * *

 _Night_

Camicazi's POV

All of us dragon riders were here in the Great Hall, joined by mom, ten of the best warriors on the island, and the roars of our dragons from outside. We were all in a circle, going over the final plans to get the Book of Dragons back. I heard my mom's plan over ten times and memorized every move, so I was good to go. I looked around to see everyone's eyes glued onto my mom or the map of Outcast Island that was on the table. The Great Hall was slightly dark, with only a few torches and hearths lit, providing light and warmth to the large room. We almost blended in with the darkness with our all black outfits. The only thing that gave us away was our voices, silhouettes, and the weapons that were on our backs or in our hands.

"Except, I will change one part of the plan, and it will not be argued." Mom suddenly said. My head snapped up at that. I could understand if my mom would change a few bits of the plan, but for nobody to contest to what she was about to say, scared and thrilled me at the same time. A light knock was heard on the doors of the Great Hall and the guards opened it. I couldn't see the person who came in, but I caught Hiccup's relieved, yet scared expression. When he felt someone staring at him, he turned to me and looked sorry. I didn't understand why, but when that person came into view, my blood boiled.

"Hello, Heather." My mom greeted her. She looked better than before. Her hair was back in its usual side braid, but her clothes matched with us in our all black attire. She had an axe in her hand and her eyes shined with determination and fire. She nodded her head respectfully and Hiccup gave her a small smile. Heather may have gotten my mom and Hiccup to agree with her presence, but I snapped.

"Are you serious?" I hissed out. My blue eyes must have burned with anger because my mom had looked away for a quick second, before masking her emotions into a cool mask. "This snake is the cause of all of this."

"Camicazi." My mom spoke to me in a cold voice. I ignored her and stared hard into Heather's green eyes.

"You are the reason for all of this." I started. Heather instantly tensed and a guilty look started to cloud her features. I enjoyed watching her squirm. "If you never stepped foot onto our lands, none of this would have ever happened. You lied, cheated, and made a mockery of us Bogs, especially us women. You practically spat on our faces and mocked us every single day you tricked us. I know I'm speaking for everyone here, that you have not the slightest bit of worth to breathe right now on—"

"CAMICAZI, STOP!" I whipped my head towards my mother right now whose anger was shown clearly on her face. Her cold anger sent chills down my spine and I instantly shut my mouth. The room was filled with a tense air. Everyone had similar expressions of anger and betrayal on their faces like I did, but I was the only one who came close to speaking against my mother. Hiccup looked severely guilty and looked away from my sight, but my mother slammed her hands on the table, gaining my attention once more.

"Heather's parents were captured by the Outcasts and when we get the Book back, you, Heather, Hiccup, and Zyon will be breaking them out immediately once we touch down own the ground."

"And what happens if Heather's parents aren't there?" I glared at the said girl. "What happens if we're heading into a trap?"

"Then Heather will pay with her life." My eyes widened in surprise about that. My mom was serious about executing Heather if anything happened to us. If the Outcasts managed to spill any Bog blood, Heather would pay the ultimate price, blood for blood. We all turned to Heather, whose face lost all of its color as my cold blue eyes and everyone stared her down in the darkness as the torches and hearth's went out.

 _In the air above Outcast Island_

Hiccup's POV

It was time. Bertha, Camicazi, the rest of the dragon riders, and the warriors were on their dragons in the air above Outcast Island. I was on Toothless and Zyon and Camicazi were on their respective dragons in the frigid cold air. Heather was with Camicazi, which scared me since Camicazi was angry at her and me, but I guess if anyone could keep an eye on Heather, it was Camicazi. I let out a breath as nerves were about to take over right now. The winter air was here and it matched the cold pit in my stomach. I had never in my life fought, and I was glad that I was on the team to break Heather's parent's out of prison, instead of fighting Alvin, Savage, and the rest of the Outcasts on the main island. I think Zyon must've felt my nervousness since he gave me a reassuring look. I observed Bertha who looked even fiercer than before. She had Alvin's great sword strapped to her back and the all black ensemble made her even deadlier than usual. My thoughts were interrupted by a fireball that was straight towards us.

"Watch out!" I screamed. The fireball had come straight towards Bertha, which she effectively dodged. She cursed before raising Alvin's sword high and turning to everyone here. She had a fierce look of determination on her face and it showed proudly.

"Alvin spotted us, go now!" she ordered. I saw her dive bomb Outcast Island with the other dragon riders and warriors, while we flew fast to the prisons. I knew Toothless' speed was something, but this was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. Outcast Island was made for war and battles, which they were effectively defended for, which made it even harder to attack.

"We need to take out the catapults if we're going to get even close to the prison!" Zyon yelled at us. We were dodging all the fireballs, but getting nowhere closer to the prison. "Aim, you guys!" Instantly, Zyon and I flew straight into the air and the whistles of our Night Furies filled the air. And then destruction came. The catapults were being destroyed one by one and Camicazi directed Shadow to get closer to the ground. She and Heather hopped off of Shadow while they fought plenty of Outcasts. I was scared for the both of them, but more so Camicazi. I have no idea what I would do without her; I hoped that nothing would happen to any of us during this deadly mission.

"I'm going to join the girls on the ground, keep on shooting!" Zyon jumped off Dark Star and landed on the ground perfectly. I quickly followed his orders as Dark Star flew on his own, taking out more catapults with me and Toothless. I could hear the screams of the Outcasts as they avoided our plasma blasts and tried to evade death. I could hear Dark Star's roars of anger and Toothless' whines as we may have possibly took a person's life, Outcast or not. We both looked at each other and felt the feel of battle. I didn't know why, but the air didn't just hold the winter winds, but death too.

Camicazi's POV

I would never, ever, _ever_ , admit it, but Heather and I worked perfect together. We may have been opposites, but she was a good person to have next to you on the field of battle. She could keep up with me and had my back whenever I may have left myself open. _I guess she isn't that bad._ I heard the whistles of Dark Star and Toothless in the air, but then I felt another presence that came from the air. Zyon had jumped off of Dark Star mid-flight and he landed perfectly on the ground a few feet from us. Heather looked shocked at that, but I wasn't, Zyon was deadly in battle and he would show no mercy.

"Miss me?" he said cheekily. He raised his sword and quickly took out an Outcast that came for him. I rolled my eyes at his comment as I dodged a sword that was aimed at my head. It almost went for Heather, but she moved fast, evading death. I looked up to see Shadow spewing acid at Outcasts, some of it even hitting flesh. Their skin melted and blood oozed from them, their bodies quickly brought odor into the air as they sagged to the ground. Even some of their bones were shown clearly on the ground. I swallowed the vomit that was about to come out of my mouth.

Usually when I fought, I aimed to knock a person out or immobilize them in some way, but the situation was dire and I threw my morals away as I shoved my sword into a heart of an Outcast who tried to behead Zyon. Their screams filled the air, but I ignored them, cancelling them out and fighting with my full strength to break this blockade of Outcasts that just kept on coming. Heather, Zyon, and I had our backs to each other, surrounded by Outcasts. Shadow had run out of shots, but I forced her to go, protecting her to make sure Alvin would never get her. She instantly blended in with the air, evading the Outcasts. I could see her outline in the air, but nobody else could. _Stubborn dragon._ The Outcasts were sneering at us and some even laughing in delight as they swarmed us. I hissed as I saw Savage coming out of the swarm of men, he smiled cruelly at me and looked over at Heather with a bored expression on his face.

"Such a shame Heather, and I thought you cared for your parents." He spoke.

"I do! Just give me my parents and we can forget about this entire thing Savage!" Heather pleaded.

"I've been sent here to kill you all by Alvin; he's a bit busy trying to put down the rest of those annoying Bogs." I glared hard at him and clenched my sword even tighter. "Any last words?"

"Yeah, we do." Zyon spoke. Savage looked shocked by that. Heather and I looked at each other before turning to look at Zyon who had a smirk on his face. "PLASMA BLAST!" The whistle of Dark Star and Toothless filled the air, making Savage and the Outcasts move back in fear. I looked up to see Dark Star powering up his plasma blast before shooting at Savage. Savage was burned from head to toe. All of the Outcasts were frozen in shock as their military commander writhed in pain from the deadly Night Fury. Dark Star had come blazing from the sky, and Zyon had jumped on, grabbing Heather. I called for Shadow who roared in fury to the Outcasts, sending them back, and I jumped on. Hiccup and Toothless came from the night sky. He looked shocked, but I shook my head at him, telling him not to worry about it, for now.

We were on our dragons now, racing to the prison. The prisons were on an isolated part of Outcast Island, it wasn't too far from the main part, but not too close for prisoners to escape. There wasn't as many guards that fought with us, probably scared from our dragons. The four of us ran into the prisons as fast as possible, leaving our dragons outside to guard us. Heather was looking through every cell and clenching her head in desperation. Suddenly, we heard screams. Heather snapped her head up and ran towards the screams as Zyon, Hiccup, and I followed. Heather had stopped in front of a cell with her axe raised high, ready to strike. Though, before she could do anything, the Outcast guard had her by her throat, clenching his hand so tight, it looked like it might snap it with just a flick of his wrist. We saw a man and woman on the ground, covered in bruises and cuts. The man looked like he took most of the damage, protecting the woman. I winced at their wounds that would probably be permanent scars on their bodies.

I raised my sword, but the Outcast guard clenched Heather's throat even tighter, causing her to squirm for air even harder. Hiccup and Zyon were on each of my sides, completely still, observing the situation with completely different expressions. Hiccup looked horrified of how crazy the jailbreak went as his green eyes were wide with fear and desperation. Zyon on the other hand, looked cold. His face showed no emotion, and his dark brown eyes observed the room, quickly, before landing back onto the Outcast guard who still held Heather dangerously. I looked at Heather, whose face was turning red with the desperation to breathe once again. I may have been jealous of her and hated how she mocked us Bogs, but there was no way I wanted her to die by the hand of an Outcast with her parents watching. I dropped my sword on the ground in defeat, and Zyon followed, not understanding where I was going with it.

The guard laughed, but before he could do anything else, I threw a dagger that was hidden in my dark vest at his hand, causing him to howl in pain. He let Heather go, trying to get my weapon out of his hand, and as she slowly got to her feet, Zyon grabbed her along with his sword and ran out of the prison. The Outcast guard got the dagger out of his hand, and cursed. His hand was bent at an awkward angle and the blood flowed even harder. He turned his fury to me, but before he could do anything, i threw a hard punch to his temple, knocking him out effectively. Hiccup looked horrified the whole time, but immediately gave his arm to Heather's mother who smiled gratefully. I helped up Heather's dad off the ground and we quickly got out of the prison. Zyon had Heather on the back of Dark Star, and they looked tired and worn out. When Heather saw her parents, she cried and jumped off of Dark Star, hugging them fiercely. I looked away from them, and stared up to the sky, sending silent prayers to my mother, hoping she was alright.

 _On the main part of Outcast Island_

Bertha's POV

The minute we dive bombed, all hell broke loose. Fire, blood, bodies, and weapons were scattered everywhere. Normally, I would never let the teenagers fight in battles or wars, giving them the roles as defenders or guards, but they were the ones who personally trained with the dragons every second, so their expertise was practically demanded. It disgusted me, making the teenagers lose a bit of their innocence with every Outcast soldier they killed. I cringed, but tore away from my thoughts as I killed another Outcast solider. We took out as many catapults as possible, but there were too many to focus on, so we touched the ground, while our dragons had our backs in the night sky. Outcast Island was a great island for defense, but not attack. The layout was barely livable, with the whole island being almost barren, but somehow Alvin and his followers survived. Every catapult was destroyed and bodies littered the ground. Dacey, Destin, and Dalla were in the air with their dragons, shooting arrows into Outcasts and creating smokescreens for us to hide into. I could see Palva and Valerie snapping necks, and stealing weapons from Outcast soldiers, who looked confused before being knocked out or killed. Even though we had less than two dozen people on our side, the dragons helped immensely. A squawk from above let me know that Deadshot was protecting me and I him. He shot some spines into four Outcasts who instantly died. I turned to meet my next opponent, and I sneered in anger as I saw the Book of Dragons in his vest and a sword and shield in his hands.

"Alvin!" I hissed.

He smiled cruelly at me as his eyes traveled up my body. "Unfortunately, killing you before screwing you into the ground is a pity. But who knows, I can probably screw you then kill you. What do you say Bertha?" I sneered at him as I raised his ancestral great sword and slashed his arm, spilling blood. His eyes darkened, not with lust, but hatred. I smirked confidently as he clutched his bleeding arm. He looked at the sword in my hand, his eyes burned with extreme hatred.

"My sword! Give it to me you broad!"

"Over my dead body."

"Looks like we'll have to make that happen." He raised his sword and it clashed with mine, over and over again. He rushed me but I quickly sidestepped him, making him fumble a bit. I took advantage of his mistake, kicking him into the rocky ground. He got up as fast as possible, and spat blood onto the ground I rushed him, slamming my sword into his wooden shield. It broke, and I pulled my sword and quickly got rid of the broken shield. Now Alvin had one less bit of protection on him. I ran to the other side of the Kill Ring, dodging swords and streams of fire, stopping in front of the weapons rack. I could hear Alvin's chuckle as he stood behind me. I strapped my sword to my back, and Alvin's laugh filled the arena.

"The great Chieftess Bertha surrendering is a sight to behold! Are you ready to die now?" he laughed out. I turned to him slowly, having two metal spears into my hands, with the darkest look on my face. He was shocked, and clenched his sword even tighter. I could see even a bit of fear on his face, but he masked it with fury.

"The real question is, are _you_ ready to die Alvin?" I hissed out. I jumped up, slashing the metal spears into his armor. He barely had any time to stop me, as I gave him no openings to defend himself. I kicked him and sent him back, taking one of the spears and breaking the buckles on his armor, causing it to fall to the ground. I threw one of the spears to the ground, not needing the two of them anymore. I bashed the other spear into his side, causing him to scream in agony. He was bleeding, but before I could do anything else, his hands wrapped around my neck, slamming me into the ground. I bit onto his hand hard and suddenly spikes came from above. Alvin quickly dodged them, but a few were lodged into his arm. He cursed the Gods and me, and I got up slowly, with my vision becoming blurry and my head bleeding hard. _Shit_. I wouldn't be able to stand up that much longer, and neither would he. We both knew that only one of us would make it out of here.

"Ring of fire, now!" I shouted. Zippleback gas surrounded me and Alvin, before being ignited, trapping us in a ring of fire. The blood from my head was flowing even faster, and I was wobbling unsteadily. The scene was grotesque; there were more bodies on the ground, mutilated by weapons and dragon fire. There was blood everywhere and the stench of death made me want to vomit all over the place. With his last bit of strength, Alvin punched me, but it wasn't as painful since he was weakened greatly, though it caused me to gasp greatly for air. I don't know how I did it, but I slammed my sword into his arm, forcing him to buckle to the ground, his knees to the floor and looking up at me. I raised my sword to his neck, and he spat at my feet.

"So once again, are you ready to die?" I asked him. He sneered and I raised the sword, ready to end Alvin's life. Before metal could hit skin, a roar from above caught my attention. Betraying the most basic rule on never turning your back on your enemy, I looked up to see Camicazi, Hiccup, Zyon, Heather, and Heather's parents on the dragons above. The battle was coming to a close now and I felt joy in seing my Camicazi uninjured and alive. Though quickly,I felt my body grow in intense pain, causing me to buckle to the ground and looking to see Alvin holding the spear in a deadly grip with my blood coated on it. My vision was getting worse, and as fire, blood, and pain surrounded me, the only thing I could hear was Camicazi's screams that filled the air and the blast of dragon fire as I blacked out.

Hiccup's POV

 _The Kill Ring of Outcast Island_

My heart stopped when I saw Bertha fall to the ground after Alvin stabbed her with the spear through her stomach and Camicazi's screams filled the air. Bertha couldn't die, she wouldn't be able to! I saw Alvin smile, before Deadshot blasted fire at him, making his skin turn black and fall still to the ground. With Bertha indisposed, Camicazi was the Chieftess now. I turned to her, but before anyone could do anything, she and Shadow blazed into the Kill Ring with the utmost fury. Camicazi had jumped off of Shadow, who was covering Bertha as Deadshot shot fire to any remaining Outcasts who tried to help Alvin who was writing in pain. All the Bogs and I surrounded Bertha and Camicazi, with the dragons scaring off any Outcasts who tried to challenge them. I hopped off of Toothless who lowered his head in defeat, and ran over to Camicazi who had the Book of Dragons by her side and was shaking with fury and pain. I looked down to see Bertha, who was bleeding all over the place. Her blonde curls were singed at the ends and dyed with blood that came from her wound on her temple. Her face was covered with bruises. Her arms were covered in scratches and her stomach was coated with blood. Her whole body was deadly pale and she was mumbling something that I couldn't tell. The warriors were covered in bruises and scars and carefully raised Bertha onto Deadshot's back. Quickly, we all jumped onto our dragons, though I had to drag Camicazi to Shadow and instantly flew back home. As we flew back, I could see the damage we caused to Outcast Island and the blood that was spilled. I clenched onto Toothless' saddle in quiet anger as I felt the consequences of my actions, especially with Bertha bleeding on the back of Deadshot.

* * *

A/N: I AM ALIVE AND I AM STILL UPDATING! I am truly sorry for not being able to update as much as i used to because of work and assignments. I can give you a long rant, but i'm going to keep it short, i am planning to update again tomorrow, so look out for another chapter filled with drama and intensity. I am going to give myself a goal: to update at least 2-3 chapters a day before mid-October. I planned for the sequel Caged and Broken to be released around that time so i could have enough time to finish the first book, but if i can't do that then the sequel is going to be pushed to the end of October.


	13. Swords, Dragons, and Secrets - Part 4

_A/N: Another chapter will be posted tomorrow, explaining many things and the future of this story. For now, enjoy the long awaited chapter._

* * *

 _Bog territory_

Hiccup's POV

We were back on the island, and the second we landed, everything was insane. Bertha was carried to the healers hut and Camicazi was instantly surrounded by the Council members, being questioned. She answered questions as quickly as possible, with no emotion in her voice. The gang and I stood by, not daring to interrupt, for fear of how Camicazi would respond. Villagers were offering condolences, acting as if Bertha had died when she was fighting for her life with the healers doing everything possible to save her. Camicazi had called for a few guards to bring Heather and her parents to the healers as well, for them to be bandaged up and later brought back to her house for them to stay under house arrest until further notice. Camicazi had the Book of Dragons in her hand, and hopped onto Shadow, flying in the direction of the healer's hut.

"Follow her Hiccup." Palva spoke. I turned to see the gang giving me sad, yet reassuring looks. "None of us can comfort her the same way you can."

I blushed at her words. "Go, before she puts a sword through you." Destin spoke. We all turned to him and gave him a dark look. "What, too soon?" Valerie slapped him and I could hear his protests as I hopped onto Toothless and made my way to the healers hut.

 _Healer's hut_

The healer's hut was large; it was about the size of my former house but slightly bigger than that. I looked around and saw Heather who was talking to her parents, but she didn't notice me, probably absorbed in seeing her parents alive by her side. I smiled at that, but then frowned as I made my way up the stairs, hoping that was where Bertha and Camicazi were at. I was right, as there were two guards on each side of the door, and could hear Camicazi mumbling on the other side. The guards stepped back a bit, to let me in and the scents of herbs and medicine met my nose. Bertha was in a comforting looking bed with many furs and pillows. Her clothes were stripped and her bindings were obvious to see and there was a white gauze on her stomach. Her curls were slightly cut, but still long and washed from all the blood. I turned to see Camicazi, sitting in a chair next to the bed, holding Bertha's hand tightly.

"Camicazi?" When she turned to me, I wanted to hold her as tight as possible when I saw her. She still had on her all black raid outfit, though it was stained with blood and dirt. It was covered in tears and her hair was messier than usual. She had on a formal headband that held more jewels, signifying her new status. But what scared me the most was her eyes. Her blue eyes that once held vibrancy, fun, and life looked dead and cold.

"My mom is going to die and it's my entire fault." She said. "If I never tipped off Heather, we wouldn't be in this mess right now." I moved closer to her and gently laid my hand on her shoulder. She gave me a sad smile in return.

"If I never fell for Heather's tricks, the Book of Dragons would have never fallen into Alvin's hands and Bertha wouldn't be here in this bed fighting for her life. I am so sorry. I know Bertha may be your mom, but I guess I got attached to." The tears fell out of my eyes that I was hiding so greatly. Camicazi's eyes shot open and she instantly got off of the chair, walking to me and wrapping her hands around my sides, burying her face into my chest. I hugged her back, holding her tight as if she was the one in the bed.

"Iwasjealous." She mumbled. I looked down at her in confusion. "I was jealous of Heather the minute she came here. She was deadly, smart, got along with everyone, and had your attention the whole time, how could I not be jealous of her? I may be a Bog that's been taught to rise above men, but that doesn't mean I don't have feelings." I blushed hard at her words and smiled at her messy head.

"I would never choose Heather over you, you're the first person to not look at me and think of me as a useless person." Camicazi looked up at me and her blue eyes shined with happiness.

"You are such a nerd Hiccup, but you're my nerd." I leaned my head down to touch hers, as we held each other in content as we waited for Bertha to awaken from her injuries.

The next day

I was in the forge when Vinnie had come barging inside, with a large amount of rocks and a content look on his face. Sage came behind him and had a large amount of the same rocks in her arms as well, and deposited them right in front of me. Meatlug and Grump followed them inside, and greeted me with licks, before moving next to Toothless and roaring at him in greeting. I looked at my forge masters, wondering what all these rocks were for.

"What's going on?" I asked them. Vinnie and Sage looked like they were going to explode with happiness, and Sage spoke up.

"Gronckle Iron!" she said. I just blinked in confusion. "Before all this craziness happened, late last light Vinnie and I found the Gronckles eating these rocks on the beach. They threw it up and Vinnie being Vinnie decided it to pick it up and form it into a weapon. Look!" she grabbed a sword made from the Gronckle Iron and sliced it into a regular iron sword next to me. The pieces landed on the stone floor, and the Gronckle Iron sword was perfectly in one piece.

"Wow." I said in amazement. I took the sword from her hands and examined it. It was lighter than any other typical sword. It was small and long, and could be held for a long period of time without being tired so easily or your arm cramping up. Vinnie shoved some rocks into my arms and pushed me into my work area.

"Well go on, make something!" Sage spoke. She moved towards the back, storing the rocks into a compartment before coming back to the main part of the forge. I smiled at their antics and before I knew it, I thought of my blonde eyed crazy warrior who needed some cheering up.

"Actually, there is something I need help to make, but I need your help." Vinnie and Sage looked at each other before giving me wide smiles. After making some supplies with the new Gronckle Iron, we got to work on my gift for Camicazi. It took the rest of the day, and before we knew it, it was night. I sheathed her gift and looked back to Vinnie and Sage who looked in need of a nap. They noticed my look of concern, and waved me off.

"Don't worry about us, go give it to Camicazi and put a smile on her face." I laughed at them and moved towards the door, to find Toothless outside with Zyon and Dark Star. Zyon was giving Toothless a rub down who enjoyed every second of it. I saw Dark Star on the roof, peering down at the two in a somewhat jealous manner. I laughed at that, Dark Star may look more intimidating than Toothless, but he was just as spoiled and grumpy as well. Toothless immediately bounded up to me, and greeted me with licks and nudges. I pushed him off gently when the slobber got too much, he chortled along with Dark Star who hopped off the roof, and stood next to his master. Zyon threw me a rag which I caught. I wiped as much slobber off as possible, but could still feel some of its stickiness on my face.

"Doesn't wash out, believe me, I tried." Zyon spoke. Dark Star growled at Zyon, who just shook his head in humor and gave him a friendly pat on the head.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Valerie and I led lessons today after you didn't show. We didn't know if you wanted to be alone or if you were busy with Vinnie and Sage. But judging from the freshly forged sword in your hand, I'm guessing that it took up most of your time today."

A guilty look came on my face. "Oh Gods! I'm so sorry about that. I should –"

Zyon held a hand up, silencing me. "It's all right Hiccup, I'm pretty sure the sword you worked on would be perfect for her."

"How'd you know it was for Camicazi?" I asked. Only Vinnie and Sage knew the sword I made was for her.

"I never said Camicazi, even though it's pretty obvious from your blushing." He laughed. I scratched my head in embarrassment as I looked up to the dark sky, seeing the stars and clouds that dominated it.

"How is she?"

"A wreck, she didn't show up to training and sat down in Council meetings all day. The Council told her to take it easy, that they'll handle the village and any issues, but she didn't listen. You know Camicazi, once she sets her mind to something, she doesn't budge at all. Come on, let's fly for a bit before you go to the healers hut." Zyon had hopped on to Dark Star and I did the same to Toothless, strapping the sword to my back carefully. We were in the air, seeing the layout of the village with people walking home or the Great Hall for dinner. There were guards walking around on patrol and the lights and lanterns glowed through the village, giving it a warm glow. I looked over to Zyon who was just gliding in the air, and I stared at his neck, wondering how he got those scars. Zyon must've read my mind, as a dark look came on his face. He moved his layer of furs and loosened his grey collar, and I saw the scar more clearly. It was in the shape of a dragon claw, and the skin around there was black, unnaturally present on his usual tanned skin.

"I turned fifteen the week before it happened. I remember coming from weapon practice late at night when the sky became warm, and the next thing I knew, armed dragons descended from the sky, burning everything and everyone in sight. I ran back home to get to my family, but one of the soldiers grabbed me and made me watch as a dragon incinerated it immediately, blowing it up and executing my whole family. I blacked out after that. I woke up on a ship and saw nothing but ice from the holes in the prison I was being kept in. Suddenly, some guards dragged me to a cage and I was thrown inside where a dragon awaited me." I didn't say anything, waiting for him to continue his story. "I saw an adolescent Night Fury that was wounded and had gashes and whip marks all over him. The soldiers thought the dragon would kill me. They were wrong, I hid in the darkest corner of the cell while Dark Star here protected me for at least a month. I guess two damaged souls fit perfectly when there's nobody pull you out of the damaged hell that's the world we live in today. We escaped out of the prison after a month and we found ourselves passed out in Bog territory. Camicazi had found me, but Dark Star was good at hiding. I found a large cave where Dark Star could rest and heal and I've been here ever since. Three very long years of us together, I guess everyone has a story when it comes to their dragons."

I was silent, taking in his story as we dipped in the air, gliding towards the healers hut.

"I guess when I think about it now; I wasn't the first person to ride a dragon." I spoke. Zyon frowned at my words.

"So?" I was shocked at his words. "In my opinion, it matters what you do when you find out the true nature of dragons. Some people could hide them away like I did; I was planning to leave the Bog-Burglars in a few years after I came here. But you took a gamble and introduced dragons to a tribe that you haven't interacted with in years, and they loved it! You may not feel it now, but you are the first Viking to introduce peace with dragons and people during hundreds of years of fighting. You're the first Viking to challenge the status quo and live afterwards. So sure, I may be the first person to ride a Night Fury, but it doesn't make you or Toothless any less important, because you guys are changing the world we live in today."

We touched down near the healers hut and I hopped off of Toothless, as I watched Zyon and Dark Star retreat into the night sky and considered his words.

I opened the door and made my way up the stairs to see the usual guards who let me in and Camicazi who was sitting in the chair, next to Bertha. Camicazi was a sight to behold. She wore nothing but armor, and leather, her usual colorful dresses void on her body. All I saw was black leather and silver chainmail surrounding her. Her hair wasn't tangled but neatly braided down her back with her formal Chieftain crown resting on her head. Her sword was in the corner, untouched. I knocked on the door to get her attention and she looked up to me and gave me a small smile in return.

I walked in and stood next to her. "How is she?"

"She's going to be fine, thank the Gods. The spear didn't hit any major muscles or organs, but she lost a lot of blood. She had a mild concussion after her head was slammed into the ground, but she was stitched up and had no major bumps or anything. Her body is going to be in a lot of pain when she wakes up. My mom is going to live!" I smiled greatly at that and looked at Bertha who did look better than before. Her skin got its color back and the bruises were starting to fade. Even her breathing was steady. Camicazi smiled greatly, but stared at the strap that held her new sword in interest.

"I wanted to cheer you up so I made you a new sword." I handed her the new sword in its sheath and she held it carefully. She unsheathed it and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Wow." The sword was made out of Gronckle Iron, its shine bright and steel smooth. The sword was long and engraved with the symbols of all the tribes in the archipelago. On the other side, it was an engraving of Shadow, dripping acid and crouched, ready to attack. "How did you do this?" she traced the engravings of the symbols and looked up to me with her blue eyes shining.

"Vinnie and Sage are some great mentors; they helped me with the designs. They found some strange rocks on the beach that their Gronckles were eating and found out it creates strong steel that's lighter and more resistant than any other. They call it Gronckle Iron. I've been in the forge all day making it for you. To cheer you up, you know." I scratched my head in embarrassment and looked away as she continued to observe her new sword. She put it down and instantly pounced on me, crushing me in a fierce hug. I could feel my heart hammering and my face heating up. Camicazi was laughing at my reaction as I hugged her back. Movement from the bed broke our hug and we turned to see Bertha opening her eyes slowly and attempting to sit up.

"MOM!" Camicazi screamed. The guards instantly ripped open the door after hearing Camicazi's screams and seeing Bertha awake. They yelled for Kerda and Lana, who came rushing through the doors with materials and food. Bertha was still attempting to sit up, but Lana and Kerda forced her back down. Bertha seemed angry at that and was attempting to yell but her voice was hoarse. Her eyes were shifting wildly around the room, until they fell on Camicazi and me. She gave us a small smile and Camicazi dragged me near the bed to see Bertha. Lana helped her drink some water and Bertha practically chugged it down.

"What in Freya's name is going on?" Bertha whispered out, her voice hoarse.

"You got stabbed by Alvin back on Outcast Island late last night." Lana explained. "Do you remember that?"

"Of course I do! I got the wound to remind me every freaking day!" she pouted. "I can't believe it."

"Can't believe what, Bertha?" Kerda asked, she was bringing out materials to change the dressing of the other bandages.

"That this is my welcoming party! I got stabbed by Alvin the Treacherous and I get you guys, I expected a big party."

"Thanks mom." Camicazi rolled her eyes at her mother while I attempted to hold my laughter, but failed.

"I'm glad you're awake now Bertha." I said honestly. She gave me a smile in return and patted my head affectionately.

"And don't go trying to blame yourself for my injuries, Hiccup. None of this is your fault and it never will be. I'm glad to see you guys alive and not wounded." I nodded in return and suddenly she winced. She glared at Kerda who was unwrapping the dressing on her head. Kerda just shrugged and continued to unwrap. The wound wasn't too bad on her head. The stitches were present on her temple and the bleeding was less. Lana started to pull off the furs on the bed and raise up Bertha's shirt, I turned from her sight, and felt Camicazi grab my hand tightly for strength. Bertha's head wound was nothing compared to her stomach. It was a mess, truthfully. The worse part of the wound was covered, but you could see the stitches that were present. Camicazi and I moved away so Lana and Kerda could work on Bertha without us being in their way. It took them some time, but Bertha was taped up and cleaned greatly. They left the room and us alone so we could talk. Bertha was propped up on the pillows now so she was half laying and sitting.

"Tell me what I've missed you guys." She asked. She was sipping her soup and staring at the two of us, waiting for a response.

"Vinnie and Sage discovered a new metal that is better for weapons and tools." I started.

She looked surprised at that. She put her soup down and looked at me in earnest. "Have you made something from it?" I nodded in response and pointed to Camicazi's new sword. Bertha touched the sword and traced her fingers over the designs. "This looks freshly forged, is it?" I gave her a small smile in return and she seemed content with that since she pushed the sword back into Camicazi's hands. She looked up to stare at Camicazi who was still silent. I nudged her and she seemed to awaken from her frozen stance.

"You almost died out there." Camicazi whispered. She took off her crown and traced the jewels lining it. She looked up at Bertha with unshed tears pooling in her blue eyes. Bertha looked shocked and caressed Camicazi's cheek.

"I'm not going anywhere Camicazi, nothing can keep me away from you." Camicazi started to cry and she wrapped her arms around Bertha's neck, her head resting on Bertha's and Bertha caressing her messy curls in comfort. She gave a smile to me and I just watched as the mother and daughter cried in each other's arms. Bertha released Camicazi and looked at the both of us seriously.

"Now, what is the current situation with Heather and her parents?" Bertha asked.

"They've been staying in our house under house arrest. I haven't talked to them yet, I've been busy with my Chieftess duties."

Bertha frowned at that. "The Council could have handled that Cam, you didn't need to do anything."

"I wanted to; it's as simple as that." Bertha rolled her eyes at Camicazi and took of the crown from her hands. Camicazi looked confused. "Well you're relieved of them now since I'm awake."

"You just woke up!" I protested.

"I'll be fine, don't worry about me." Bertha spoke; she tried to move her body, but was met with pain. She gripped the posts of the large bed, trying to contain her discomfort, but failed. She fell back onto the pillows and breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Mom, you are not getting out of that bed anytime soon." Camicazi scolded Bertha. I looked between the two bickering blondes and wondered which one was the adult and the other, the child.

"All right, but there are two things we need to discuss, Heather and Hiccup." Camicazi and I looked at each other in confusion. "Heather and her family will leave Bog territory tomorrow morning. With the ice about to set soon, we don't need any other distractions or stresses that are staying here in the form of people from foreign tribes."

"And me?" I questioned.

"I was going to push it back until next year until we got fully situated with the dragons, but I guess Heather opened my eyes. Hiccup, your lack of ability to assess a dangerous situation and trustworthiness _scares_ me. If Toothless wasn't by your side when you left Berk, I would fear for your life every second. Words don't always work, and action will have to replace the words that come out of one's mouth. I understand that you have a gentle mind and heart, but you need to be prepared for any situation could break you, either mentally, emotionally, or physically. The minute Heather and her parents leave, you start your training to be a Bog. It's going to take some time, and it is going to be hard, but I know you can do it."

 _The next morning_

I was at the docks, with Camicazi, Heather, and her family. The sky was completely grey now and it was freezing outside. Dragons were in the air, moving supplies, and villagers were moving about doing their duties and work. Heather was dressed in her original clothes that she arrived in, with the addition of a thick fur coat. Her parents were the same. A ship had supplies and food for at least two weeks on it for Heather and her family to survive on until they returned home. A dragon was attached to give them a fast head start so the ice won't catch them. Heather's parents gave me smiles of gratitude and I returned them with a true one, the same as Camicazi. They walked onto the ship, talking quietly and watching the sky. Heather turned to Camicazi and me, an awkward silence present. I nudged Camicazi, for her to start. She rolled her eyes in response.

"I guess I don't hate you as much as I first met you." She said.

"Camicazi!" I gave her a warning glance.

"But it doesn't mean I trust you." I slapped a hand to my head, in exasperation of Camicazi.

"I'm glad you and your family found each other Heather." I started. "But Camicazi's right, I don't know if I could ever trust you or believe anything that comes out of your mouth again, but if we ever do meet again, I hope it's under a better situation."

Heather nodded at me and rushed onto the ship that held her parents. She waved goodbye to us and as the dragon led the ship far enough into the water, and Camicazi and I said goodbye to Heather and all of the craziness that she brought onto Bog territory.

 _Back at the Academy_

Dragon Training was put off for me to start training to be a Bog. Everyone was covered in thick furs covering their bodies, as the temperature dropped for the upcoming winter. The sky was grey and I was slightly shivering as the wind blew all around us. Everyone was holding their respective weapons while our dragons were on the ground, lazily taking a nap. Camicazi stepped into the center of the academy, and she looked like herself again. She didn't wear her crown, replaced with red beads on her neck and arms, with a matching dress. Her hair was freed from its former braid, blowing messily in the cold air.

"With Snoggletog on the way, we don't have time to teach you everything, so we'll stick with the basics." She spoke. "Swordfighting, burglary, and stealth are the three main parts of being a Bog, you won't master them immediately but you should get the hang of it." I nodded and Camicazi snapped her fingers. She picked up a sword from the weapons rack and handed it to me. I held it awkwardly and Camicazi frowned at me.

"Why are you holding it in your right hand?"

"Why not?"

"Maybe because you're dominant hand is your left and not your right." She sighed out and immediately moved my hands to correct my mistake. It worked immediately since I had a better grip and stability on the sword. It wasn't a Gronckle sword, but a typical iron sword since Camicazi wanted me to start with basics before moving to anything too advanced. She had her usual iron sword I her hand while her new Gronckle sword was back at the house, in her room. "Now, what's the first thing that comes to your mind when facing an opponent?"

"Try not to die?"

"That and what else?"

"Attack first?"

Camicazi shook her head in response. "Wrong, let your attacker come at you first, they'll wear themselves out by trying to hurt you. Always stay on defense before moving to an offensive position." Camicazi immediately rushed me and I jumped back in response, raising my sword to meet hers. She smirked in response. "It's a good thing you learn fast Hiccup. Now any enemy you face could be big or small, so you always need to be prepared in any situation you meet someone who may be large or small in size." She snapped her fingers and Destin and Zyon stood by her side with their weapons in their hands. "Not all enemies may have a sword in their hand, but it's the most typical Viking weapon, like a war hammer."

Destin frowned at her words. "Just because I use a bow and arrow and some daggers doesn't mean it's not a typical Viking weapon."

"It's not a typical male Viking weapon, if you would have let me finished." Camicazi rolled her eyes while Destin huffed out in response and the others snickering under their palms. "Most male Viking warriors stick to swords and war hammers while some women warriors stick to axes. Here on Bog territory, those who choose to aide in fighting, use any type of weapons. Arrows are much deadlier than a sword or war hammer in situations that may be called for. While one may be fighting one-to-one with a sword, an arrow can take a life before you know it. Look for the slightest signs that someone has an arrow, archers prefer to stay in heavily shielded areas like forests or some place that can observe a whole area. You can choose any weapon you like, but you should still be able to use most of the weapons just in case you don't have the chance to get a sword."

I nodded in response to her words. "I'll stick with the sword, but I wouldn't mine learning other weapons."

"All right, now you're small like me and the girls, so agility and flexibility are great. You can outrun your enemy as fast as possible, but only for a limited time until you'll be forced to attack." Suddenly, Zyon charged at me and I ran as fast as possible away from him. Zyon was bigger than me, but he kept up perfectly. If I moved one way, he moved just as fast. I was starting to get winded, so I stopped and gripped my sword tightly. Zyon was observing me carefully with a critical eye and i was doing the same. "Now you never want to show any sign of weakness, your enemy will quickly take advantage of it." I was looking in Camicazi's direction as she spoke, but Zyon quickly smirked at that. Before I could do anything he knocked the sword out of my hand and pointed his to my throat, making me still in shock and fear.

"Zyon, stop scaring him!" Dalla yelled from the sidelines. "It's all right Hiccup, you'll get him."

"Never take your eye off your enemy; you'd be dead before you know it." Zyon spoke. He lowered his sword and picked up my fallen one and handed it to me. We ran back to the center of the academy and Camicazi crossed her arms with a thoughtful look on her face.

"This exercise showed me a few things about you Hic, you're fast and agile, and can hold your own, but for a limited time and you get easily distracted. You prefer compromise, but compromise can get you killed. Words can't support you in battle, only a weapon. Val, Palva, go." Valerie and Palva moved towards me and I watched them in suspense. Valerie threw a quick punch at me which I dodged, but Palva knocked me off my feet and onto the ground with a quick swipe of her foot.

"People say hand-to-hand combat is foolish, but it's great in a fight. When you see your opponent for the first time, you view them with a critical eye. What their dominant hand is, if they've been injured before in the past affects their movement, if they sway, any little thing can give away a person's intention from their movement."

"If you lose your weapon in a fight, you need to know how to defend yourself immediately. Now, everyone has a weakness, no matter how strong or powerful they are, take advantage of it. But you should still have a weapon on you no matter what so be prepared. I have daggers hidden in my arm gauntlets and Dalla has a whip wrapped into her hair."

I turned to Dalla who smiled broadly at me "In your hair?" She moved pieces of thick brown hair and there was a dark whip blending perfectly within the dark nest of hair. "You guys are crazy."

"We're Bogs." They all spoke in unison.

"Is there a difference?" I said cheekily. I got a punch in the shoulder in response from Camicazi. "All right, I deserved that." Camicazi laughed.

"Now, let's get started." Camicazi spoke.

 _A few hours later_

"Ow!" I yelled. I just got tackled again by Camicazi. I could hear all the dragons laughing and I glared at Toothless who looked the most amused out of all them in the corner of the academy.

"Sorry, but not sorry Hic." She got up off me and brushed the dirt off of her. She helped me up from the ground as I tried to catch my breath. I was sweating hard and pretty sure that I looked like a mess. I looked at the others and they didn't even break a sweat and seemed perfectly in control.

"How long have we been at this?" I finally regained my breath and stretched my sore muscles.

"Two hours, I think." Destin laughed. "Dude, you seriously need to get in shape."

"At least you're getting the hang of the sword!" Dalla spoke. She was picking up the loose arrows around the arena that she shot at me. I'm still wondering how I survived most of them while the others left a few scratches on my body. I looked at the sword that was in Valerie's hand as I took in Dalla's words. I was definitely not a prodigy like Zyon and Camicazi, but I got better at defending myself with it fairly well.

"Your hand-to-hand combat definitely needs some work, but we can work on that another day. We still need to work on your stealth and burglary skills, but we can take a break." Valerie spoke. She ran her hands through her short hair and had a thoughtful expression on her face. "Maybe we can start with stealth and burglary tonight?"

"Not bad." Camicazi spoke. "We can wrap it up into one lesson and continue it until you perfect it. Now, say you're trapped in a wooden box, there are no holes or any openings at all, how do you get out?"

"Not everything has a strong foundation, so there must be a screw loose somewhere. So if there's a screw loose, take it and everything falls!" I said. Camicazi smiled at my enthusiasm.

"Exactly, most warriors believe that if they are trapped by a stronger enemy, they either give up or try to break free using brute force alone. What many don't realize is that not everything is perfect, that there is always one weakness that can make everything crumble. A simple unscrewed nail can free a person from prison. A careless guard can easily have his keys taken away. Spies are caught by an over interest in things. Stealth is a skill that anyone can master; it's just a matter of misdirection. Watch me." She had strapped her sword and pulled out a dagger. She waved it in her hands for a bit and threw it in the air as high as possible and I watched it go into the air. My eyes followed the dagger as it went into the air and back onto the ground, but Camicazi was gone. I felt a dagger to my throat and I stilled. I moved slowly and saw Camicazi grinning slyly at me.

"How did you –"

"I said to _watch me."_ She withdrew the dagger from my throat and strapped it to her side. "You weren't watching me, but my weapon. You were so focused on my dagger, you didn't notice me move and come behind you. Many people make the same mistake of focusing solely on the weapon and not the person holding it. It's just a matter of misdirection, master that, and you can defeat anybody."

"But there is a downside though." Valerie spoke up. I turned to her where she sat on a wooden bench, stretching her leg. "If you use too much stealth, your enemy can learn the patterns fast and take advantage of it and turn the tables before you know it. Like Camicazi said, misdirection can be mastered quite easily and defeat anyone with it."

"So Camicazi, think our boy Hiccup here is ready for a trial test?" Destin spoke. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and grinned wickedly down at me. I knitted my eyebrows in confusion as I looked at Camicazi.

"Trial test is when we do a quick test on how good your abilities are." She answered

"I just started only two hours ago Camicazi, I'm not ready yet to do a test." I argued.

"It's just a quick one in the forest at midnight tonight, you'll be fine." She waved off my words with such ease.

"I haven't even learned burglarizing yet!"

"Don't worry, that'll be in the forest too. Oh and one more thing, you can't bring Toothless at all." Toothless immediately snorted out of anger from Camicazi's words but she just rolled her eyes. She stomped over to Toothless who looked at her in anger. "You don't get to come along Toothless, stop pouting." He huffed at her and pointed his tail in my direction and back at him and glared harder at Camicazi. "I know he's your best friend, but you can't go."

"You do realizing you're arguing with a dragon, right?" I spoke.

"Shut it Hiccup." Camicazi gave me an overly sweet smile and my eyes widened in fear. She turned back to my stubborn friend and a thoughtful look came onto her face. "I'll give you three baskets of nice Atlantic cod if you leave Hiccup for the night." Toothless' eyes widened and he was struggling to make a decision. Quickly though, he nodded his head and avoided my sight. Camicazi smirked at me in victory.

"Wow, three baskets of fish for my safety. If I lose a leg, it's on you Toothless."

"Now, you'll have to only burglarize a dagger and that's it."

"What's the catch?"

"You'll have to get my dagger." She raised her dagger and twirled it in her hands playfully and I looked at her strangely. I looked at the others and they all had identical smirks on their faces and I felt chills down my spine that was not from the winter air.

 _Midnight in the forest_

I was in the forest, following white markings on the ground that led to a clearing in the center of the whole place. I had made a simple Gronckle sword after training earlier today and had it strapped to my back in its sheath. I knew for sure that I would have to fight Camicazi but the others were wild cards. Before I could do anything, an arrow came straight at me, slicing through the air and dangerously close to my ear. I followed the direction of where the arrow came from and saw slight movement in the trees. I heard a branch crack and moved just in time to dodge another arrow. Destin and Dalla jumped from high branches and landed harmlessly onto the ground, without a scratch on either sibling. They had their bows and arrows ready to shoot at me.

"You've got to get passed all of us to get to Camicazi." Destin told me.

"And it's not going to be easy." Dalla finished. She shot an arrow at me and it grazed my arm and I held in a cry of pain. I looked at Destin who watched me like a hawk, and the minute I stepped, he shot an arrow which I dodged. I ran and Destin chased after me, while Dalla climbed back onto one of the many trees in the forest. My heart was beating fast and as I tried to stop and catch my breath, an arrow from above landed near my head. I started running again and I could hear Dalla above, high in the tress, jumping from branch to branch. I could also hear Destin coming from behind me and picked up the pace. I knew that I wouldn't be able to run forever, but Destin and Dalla wouldn't be able to shoot forever as well. All I would have to do is outrun them until they ran out of arrows and try to avoid the others until I found Camicazi.

I slowed down and heard Destin and Dalla come behind me. I turned around and they had their bows aimed at me with a perfect shot. They had looks of confusion on their faces as to why I stopped, but I didn't show any emotion to give my plan away. There was a reasonable amount of distance between us for a shot and for me to run. Now all I had to do was make them shoot first. I clenched my sword and their eyes lit up in anticipation and they released their arrows. I moved fast and the arrows lodged into a tree. They had about eight arrows each left and all I had to was dodge the remaining sixteen.

"Just because you dodged these doesn't mean you can do the same to the rest." Destin spoke. He shot another one at me, which grazed my cheek. I grinded my teeth as I moved from another of Destin's arrows. I needed to tire him out as he kept on shooting so I ran towards him. Destin and Dalla seemed surprised at that and moved towards me as well, before we could get close to each other, I grounded my feet into the dirt causing the two of them to trip and fall over each other. I quickly grabbed Destin's arrows and snapped them in half. Dalla was faster than her brother and quickly regained herself after the fall and saw my quick trick. She threw a punch, but I caught her hand and pulled her to the ground. The two of them were tangled together and I ran out of their view and deeper into the forest.

I stopped and caught my breath. I clenched my hand to my chest and my knees were shaking from adrenaline. I have never in my life fought like that and it frightened and scared me. Before I could do anything else, I felt someone staring at me and looked up to see Valerie and Palva peering down from the trees. My green eyes widened and the girls jumped down fast before I could even react. I ran immediately, but the girls were even faster. Quickly, Valerie grabbed my arm forcing me back, but I elbowed her in the side and she winced out of pain. Palva took action and swung a fist to my stomach, for someone smaller than me, she sure packed a punch. I slunk to the ground and bit back a cry of pain. I collected myself and made my way back on my feet but shakily. Palva observed me a bit more before stepping back and looking at Valerie whose blue eyes peered into my green ones. She smirked and before I could move, she pounced on me, forcing me onto my stomach and clenching my arm behind my back, sitting on it.

"Wow, I thought you would've had a lot more fight in you after Dalla and Destin." Valerie said. "I didn't think you give up this quickly." She slowly raised herself off me, which gave me the perfect opportunity to strike. I immediately forced her away from me by getting up completely, startling her. Grabbing her by one of her arms, I flipped her over me and she fell onto Palva. Both the girls had their mouth open in shock by my strength.

 _I didn't lift swords in the forge for years and not gain some strength._

I was getting closer to the beach, but before I got out of the forest, I was tackled by another person. Dalla, Destin, Valerie, and Palva already came after me, so that would leave Zyon as the last obstacle before coming to Camicazi. I stood up and saw Zyon smirking smugly at me as he watched all my movements and reactions to his attack. Zyon pulled his sword out of its sheath and pointed it at me in a challenging manager. I pulled my sword out and pointed it at him as well, observing his whole stance. He was ready to attack, and that he did. He immediately swung at me, and I met his swing with my sword. He forced his weight upon me, and I had almost fallen, but quickly righted myself. Even though I just started training hours earlier, I knew some motions from watching Camicazi and the others train before in the arena turned academy. A swipe to my legs caused me to jump back again, but this time stumbling over a log. Zyon smiled at that and rushed me, his sword aimed at my left leg. I was stuck in fear for a few seconds, and as his sword got closer, I rolled to my right and jumped up, evading a deadly blow.

Zyon looked completely stunned at that, as his dark eyes widened in response to my sudden movement. He turned around and swung his sword again, and I dodged it perfectly. I never in my life been so happy to be small, which made me fast and quite agile against stronger foes. We were quickly dancing in a circle with our backs pressed against each other, with him swinging, and me dodging. Zyon and Destin were the same size, with Zyon slightly stronger due to him being the eldest in our gang. He wasn't big like a typical Viking teen, but wasn't small like me, just in between. He used his strength when he fought, but mainly observed before he decided to strike. As he turned to fully face me, I quickly grabbed his sword hand and pressed hard on a pressure point in his hand. Quickly, he went to the ground in shock as I ran to the beach.

 _Thank you Valerie and Palva for those hand-to-hand combat skills!_

The beach was illuminated by the moon, shining brightly in the dark, cloudless sky. I immediately spotted Camicazi, who was lounging on a wooden log, picking at her nails. She looked up and met my dirty, yet frustrated face with a smirk. I was covered in cuts, bruises, dirt, and probably a bit of blood. I'm guessing she thought my look was funny, but I was tired, and wanted to get that dagger that was resting on her hip and finish this trial. She didn't say anything as she stood up and pulled out her sword that was in her sheath. As the moon shone down on us, it illuminated all of her features, and made her seem deadlier than before, as I was looking into the blue eyes of a young warrior, not my best friend. I heard footsteps, and turned to see the others covered in scratches and bruises from me, surrounding the two of us as they were going to watch Camicazi and I's fight.

Immediately, Camicazi attacked, betraying her earlier words of never moving first when finding an opponent, but I guess that was a different matter when it came to me. She moved fast and immediately met my sword with her own. The extreme power she had was felt, and I wobbled under the pressure and strength she had, but I fought back. Our swords constantly met, as she attacked me and I defended. I was starting to get tired, but she barely broke a sweat. If I moved to try and take her dagger, she dodged and attacked me with even more force. I knew I wouldn't be able to last with my sword, so I needed to attack with my hands. She swung her sword again, and I threw mine to the ground the minute hers was in the air. She was surprised by my change in attack as she fell to the sand. The others gasped in shock to my tricks that worked on Camicazi, but she immediately threw her sword down, and pounced on me. Knowing that I had only one move left, I let Camicazi move first, and forced my body to calm down. I dodged her, grabbed the dagger, and grinned in triumph.

Everyone cheered at my accomplishment, while Camicazi got up from the sandy beach and stormed over to me. Before I could do or say anything, she grabbed my shirt and forced a kiss on my lips. I blushed hard while she just laughed in amusement.

"That was for beating me." She said. I smiled stupidly and was about to add a sarcastic comment, but she added a punch to my reward kiss. I frowned at her in return. "And that was for becoming a Bog."

"Aren't the punches supposed to come first, then the kisses?" I asked.

"I can just punch you if you like, and get rid of kissing you."

"I'll take the punches first."

"That's what I thought." I sat down on the beach and tightened my furs as the cold winds whipped around all of us, as I looked up into the night sky. It was starting to build up with clouds that just started to release snow that was going to cover the entire Bog territory. Our minds were free and relaxed, as the seven of us sat on the beach and looked up into the sky that brought new weather and change to all of us Bogs.

* * *

 _Berk_

Stoick's POV

I walked away from Fishlegs after he told me about Hiccup. I left him and walked in the direction of the forge. I didn't believe one word he said about Hiccup riding a Night Fury. It was absolutely insane that my Hiccup could train and ride a dragon out of Berk, impossible! I was in front of the forge now and could see Gobber drinking some warm mead and eating bread inside. I opened the door and took off my cape, since the heat of the forge blocked the cold outside. Gobber turned to look at me with surprise, he put down his food and pulled up a stool and extra cup of mead for me. I immediately walked towards the stool and accepted the drink, pouring it down my throat in earnest. I slammed the empty cup down and grabbed the pitcher of mead filling my cup up once again. Gobber looked at me with his usual stare, and I put the cup down once I drank all its contents once again.

"What is it?" I spoke. Gobber gave me a look and I just sighed out in frustration.

"You found something out about Hiccup, didn't you?"

"How do you always know that?"

"You always have that face when you want to talk about Hiccup." I scrunched my eyebrows and squinted my eyes. "There's the look!"

"Fishlegs found something about Hiccup." Gobber's eyes widened at that. I was pretty sure he didn't expect Fishlegs to find something. "I know, but it's what he told me that's troubling me. He believes that Hiccup rode a Night Fury out of Berk." Gobber didn't say anything, and as I waited for him to take it in, I looked into his eyes and noticed that he seemed to believe what I just told him.

"You can't be serious!" I hissed.

"I'm not saying I believe it, but I'm not saying it's not possible."

"Are you mad!?"

"Think about it. The Night Fury hasn't appeared in any raids since Hiccup left." He held a finger up. "Alvin suddenly shows up with some 'repairs' and no hostile behavior in decades." Another finger up. "Fishlegs finds out new information that could tell us about Hiccup and you're going to ignore it!?"

"I don't believe in any of this nonsense! Vikings riding dragons is madness, only a fool would be tempted to do so!"

"You asked for my opinion, and you got it. If you want someone to deny what Fishlegs told you, then you better go get Spitelout to tell you what you want to hear." Gobber turned from me and took the empty cups to be cleaned in the back. I immediately left and returned home, ignoring dinner and the cold pit in my stomach, that Alvin, Gobber, and Fishlegs may be right about Hiccup.

 _Mid-afternoon the next day_

I was in a Council meeting, and I was getting angry by each passing minute. Complaints about the food supply were driving me up a wall. It wasn't my fault that the dragons were coming in larger packs and stealing our food. This was the only time I wished I wasn't Chief, sitting in this chair and listening to everyone blame me that the dragons did was not my fault. The food supply was low; it could feed the whole village, but approximately for a month. We needed food and fast. Since the last raid, food was low and supplies for building were scarce. According to Gothi, the ice would set sooner than usual and the snow would be even heavier. If this was true, then I would need to go to Meathead Island and ask Mogadon for supplies. The snow had started to fall after I slept, and there was already a light dusting on the ground which frightened me even more. I didn't want to have a famine or any serious illnesses break out when we were forced to stay on Berk due to the ice setting and future winter storms.

"With the snow already starting to fall, we need to cut back on the food being consumed. Only pregnant women and children can have excess food." I spoke.

"And what about Snoggleog, are we going to decrease the amount of food for the party?" Hoark questioned.

"We'll do whatever is necessary; do you care more about having a belly full of mead and chicken or a child possibly dying from starvation?" Hoark shrunk back from my words and I sighed out in exasperation. "Have any trader's ships been spotted?"

"None." Bucket replied. "I'm surprised Johann hasn't come yet."

"Well there was a storm some nights ago, so it probably blew him off course."

"Are we going to rely on Johann for food, isn't that your job?" Spitelout snarled.

"Wrong. It's the whole village's job; my job is to solve everyone's problems to make sure that none of us wakes up dead in the morning either from dragons or starvation." Spitelout immediately shut his mouth and I could hear his teeth grind as I sat next to him.

"What about clothing?" Burnthair asked.

"Clothing is being made by the seamstresses in high demand, there making enough clothes and blankets for everyone in the village without losing too much fabric." Phelgma told me.

"That's good to hear. Well, now we need to –" I was interrupted when the doors to the Great Hall flung open. We all turned to see Gobber who was panting like crazy. I was miffed at him from last night, but his reasons for interrupting me better have been important.

"Johann's here!" he yelled out. Cheers were instantly around the room and I let out a breath of relief. I adjourned the meeting and followed Gobber down to the docks. When we got there, Johann looked tired but excited. He was dressed in his usual strange gear, and his smile was present on his face.

"Chief Stoick! How good to see you! Excuse me for my lateness, but the storm threw me off course and I had to go backwards in my usual trading route." Johann spoke. He started to unload supplies that were on his ship and people started to collect or trade for them eagerly. Normally I would tell the villagers to cool it, but we needed these supplies desperately. "But the different course was exciting, that's for sure!"

"It's all right Johann, I'm glad you're here. How was your change of course exciting?"

"Dragons, of course! When I told Chief Mogadon about Bertha and Camicazi riding dragons, he laughed, but seeing Master Hiccup and Mistress Camicazi riding their own, I was so shocked. It scared me a bit, but it was no problem. So I have baskets of salted meat, dried fruit, and wine here for you, anything else?"

"Everything is fine, but you said Camicazi and Hiccup?"

Johann looked at me strangely, before answering. "Of course, you did send him there."

"Of course I did, I've been forgetting so many things lately, excuse me Johann." I walked away immediately from Johann and everyone else at the docks. I could hear footsteps behind me and I was pretty sure it was Gobber. I ignored him and went off to finish my duties for the day.

Fishlegs' POV

I was shaking with fear. Chief Stoick didn't move a muscle after I told him about Hiccup yesterday. In fact, he just ignored me and walked back in the direction of the forge. I left after that and went home to sleep in fear of the next day. In the mid-afternoon, I left training with the others and ran to my mother who worked in the seamstress' shop in the village. I immediately opened the door and was met with protest from some of my mom's helpers. They were throwing fabric at me, but I pushed passed them and went into my mom's work station. I opened the door to her work station and she gave me a smile in greeting, but noticed my nervousness and frowned in disappointment.

"What's wrong Fish?" she asked. I wringed my hands and was shaking in fear. I was pretty sure my whole complexion had gone white and my mom's eyes widened in fear. She grabbed a nearby chair for me and pushed me into it, shutting the door to give us some privacy. "What's wrong Fishlegs?" she asked in earnest.

"I told him, I told him the truth and I have no idea what's going to happen now."

"Who did you tell what Fishlegs?"

"Chief Stoick. I told Chief Stoick the truth about Hiccup." My mom's face went pale and I could practically hear her heartbeat racing as the room turned silent. "What did you tell him?" I told her everything about Hiccup's disappearances during training, his anger towards me and the entire village, the Night Fury, the prosthetic tail, everything. When I finished, she looked as if Loki had come down from the sky and stood in front of the door. She got up slowly and paced the room. She unraveled her tight braids and ran her hand through her thick blonde hair.

"Oh gods, I made a mistake, didn't i?" I asked her. Surprisingly, she shook her head at me.

"You didn't, sooner or later anyone would've found out what happened to Hiccup."

"No they wouldn't have, Chief Stoick threw a party when Gobber told him that Hiccup disappeared. Nobody cared or still cares about Hiccup, it seems that Gobber and I are the only ones who actually do!"

"Fishlegs, lower your voice!"

"Mom!"

"Enough! I need to get your father, so stay right here and don't say anything to anyone." She ran out of the room and closed the door. I could hear my mom speak to her working girls, and she stepped out, heading to the docks for my father. Ten minutes later, both my parents returned and my dad looked between my mom and I, confused on why he was here and not at the docks helping with the food supply.

"Fishlegs, what's wrong?" he asked. Mom gave me a look and motioned to dad. I let out a nervous breath before telling him everything. As I repeated the same story I told my mom, my dad's face changed expressions as I spoke. Shock, anger, despair, and worry all crossed his face, before he fell down into the chair I sat in earlier, clutching his head in despair.

"You should've told us before you done something so reckless like this!" Dad started. "Do you understand the situation you've put the entire family under!?" I flinched and mom rested hand on my shoulder in comfort.

"It's not his fault! Stoick wouldn't do anything drastic to him or us for telling the truth!"

"And what if he does? What if Stoick decides to banish him or all of us for this insane truth? What if Stoick decides to drag the Ingerman name through the dirt for the rest of our lives and future generations?"

"We don't know the consequences of Hiccup's actions! We're not going to suffer because of what he did."

"Stoick is stubborn, more than Spitelout, and once he sets his mind on something, he's not going to budge!"

"This is not just our fault!" I spoke up. Mom and dad both turned to me with matching looks of surprise. "It's the whole village's fault. For at least fifteen years, everyone has treated Hiccup like garbage. We did the same thing by not standing up for him and trying to help, instead we just put him down. When Hiccup snapped that day during training, I didn't see a Viking, I saw a strong person who stood up for what he believed in." Silence enveloped my mother's workshop, as my parents took my words in. I didn't know what was going to happen to us, but there was only one way to find out.

"We need to go to Stoick, we need to know what he's going to do to all of us. But first, grab the box of Hiccup's stuff and meet us at his house."

 _Night_

Gobber's POV

I was outside of Stoick's house, banging my one good hand on his door. I heard what Johann had said about Hiccup being with the Bog-Burglars, and Stoick was avoiding me like I was Loki himself. I was not going to stop until I found out Hiccup was all right, I could care less if Stoick ignored this, but Hiccup was practically like my own child after all these years, and knowing he was all right would be an early Snoggletog gift for me.

"I'm not leaving Stoick and if you want me to lose my other hand, then you better open this door right now!" I yelled. I was getting looks from some guards who were passing by, but I ignored them. I could hear footsteps, and I tapped my foot, waiting for him. Stoick opened the door and he gave me a harsh glare. I could feel the anger vibrating off of him and I stepped inside, before closing the door behind me.

"I should have known. I should have seen the signs!" Stoick yelled. His hulking frame filled the main room, his shadow cast on the walls creating a dark mood. Even though the fire from the hearth kept the room warm, it felt cold. He was pacing back and forth in anger, and I just watched him roar with betrayal. Before I could say anything, a knock on the door interrupted his rants; I opened it, and was surprised to see the whole Ingerman family there. Greta, Bjorn, and Fishlegs were outside, and Fishlegs was holding a wooden box. I moved from the doorway, and they came inside hesitantly.

"Chief Stoick." Bjorn Ingerman greeted Stoick with a respectful nod and Stoick just stared hard at the Ingerman family, especially Fishlegs. "I need to talk about my son's findings of –"

"I already know what you're doing here, all of you." He cut Bjorn off rudely, staring hard now at the wooden box in Fishlegs' hands. "Alvin, Johann, and Fishlegs say that Hiccup. . . rode a Night Fury out of Berk. It's madness and I refuse to believe it."

"What if it's true? Do we suffer for Hiccup's actions?" Greta said nervously. She was clenching her husband's hand tightly with her own, and resting the other on her son's neck.

"Of course not, none of you are riding dragons here on Berk."

"Yet Hiccup rode one out of here, and you never noticed, you never noticed anything with Hiccup." I mumbled. I could feel Stoick burning a hole through me with his glare, but I ignored him, staring at the box in Fishlegs' hands. I took it from him and opened it, and my mouth dropped in shock. There were sketches of the Night Fury bathing in the sun, looking in the sky, sleeping, and more. There were scrolls of a sketch of a prosthetic tale, saddle designs, notes on the Night Fury's habits and more. I marveled at Hiccup's genius, but felt fear for him at the same time. The Ingerman's and I turned to Stoick who looked ready to explode. He tore the box out of my hands, looking at each piece of scrolls and designs on the Night Fury. His face was matching his red beard, and I think he snapped when he saw a bigger sketch. It was a perfect drawing of Hiccup and his Night Fury soaring in the sky. Every detail was captured perfectly without a single mistake; you could practically feel the drawing come off the page. But it was the words that I think made him go off the deep end.

 _Toothless, my best friend until the end._

Stoick took the sketch and tore it in half, the ripping noise making the rest of us jump in fear.

"Stoick, don't." I had a feeling of his next few words, and it put the fear of the Gods in me. "For once in your life, would you please just listen to me!?"

"He's thrown his lot in with _them._ He's not a Viking." He tore the remaining sketches in the box.

"Stoick!" He threw the sketches, the box, everything, into the hearth, immediately making it burn.

The fire raged and burned within the hearth of Hiccup's items, but also Stoick's rage as his next words were the cruelest things I've ever heard in my life.

"He's not my son."


	14. Unpleasant Reunions and Funerals, Part 1

A/N: FINALLY GOT A CHAPTER READY FOR YOU GUYS! A BIG A/N AT THE BOTTOM, PLEASE READ AFTERWARDS.

* * *

Hiccup's POV

I was in the forge, slamming my hammer down on the heated sword that a dragon decided to chew on earlier today. It was getting back to shape as I slammed my hammer on it, and dunk it in the bucket of water for it to be cooled completely. I was covered in sweat and soot from the heat of the forge that I've been in almost all day after helping out in the Academy early this morning. I picked up a rag that was sitting in a wash basin which I put on my face to cool me down slightly. As I was lost in trying to cool myself down, I thought of all the events that happened in the past year from my arrival onto Bog territory. Toothless' and I's trial, Zyon and Dark Star, the battle with the Outcasts, Bogs accepting dragons, and so much more changed the entire Bog Burglar tribe in the past year. I smiled lightly at the events that happened, until a roar from the corner got my attention. I turned to see Toothless pouting from a lack of attention he'd gotten today. I rolled my eyes at his pouting and threw a fish his way, which he eagerly ate, before regurgitating the head back in front of my feet.

I grimaced at the head. "I'm good, no thanks Toothless." I said to my spoiled best friend. He grumbled and made his way out of the forge as I followed him outside to go and get ready for the Harvest Festival. I got onto his back and as he flew us back to the house, I looked at Toothless carefully. He got even darker and slightly bulkier, and his wing span increased noticeably. I had changed as well, becoming different in the past year just like every other Bog on the island. I wasn't afraid of fighting, as I mastered archery and sword fighting from the gang and reveled in fighting, burglary, stealth, and more. My personality had changed, since I was more bold and outgoing, but still had my quirkiness according to Camicazi. I still looked the same, but I had less freckles on my face, I grew an inch, my hair was slightly longer and darker, and my strength drastically improved.

We were back home and I hopped off of Toothless who went to the large stable by the house, roaring a greeting to Sharpshot who looked slightly irritated that Toothless had interrupted his nap, but still friendly regardless. I ran upstairs and threw open the door to my messy room. It was covered in designs, sketches, and drawings of inventions of Toothless and his tail, as well as Bertha, Camicazi, the rest of the gang, and our dragons. My Gronckle shield and sword rested upon the hooks above my giant bed that was warm and inviting, but I needed to clean myself up for the Harvest Festival tonight as soon as possible. I tore off all my clothes and threw myself into the slightly warm water in the tub as I scrubbed the sweat and dirt off from the forge. Drying myself as fast as possible, I threw on a new green tunic, with the Bog crest sewed on the arms with gold thread and some pants. It was still slightly warm at night despite the transition into fall. Running as fast as possible, I hopped onto Toothless and he flew down to the center of the village where the festival was taking place, with Sharpshot following, eager to find Bertha. He rarely leaves her side anymore after the incident at Outcast Island, guilty at the permanent scars on her stomach.

The sky was darkening, and as we flew, my thoughts started to turn dark as well. I was done with my original mission, training dragons on Bog territory. I had convinced Bertha to integrate dragons, and despite some setbacks, dragons lived peacefully here without any disturbance. There were stables and feeding stations situated all over the island, and a plan to make underground stables for all the baby dragons that came here over Snoggletog was underway that was going to be started in the next year or two.

"I wonder what we can do now…" I mumbled. Toothless raised his head in concern at my words and I gave him a sad smile in return. "It's all right bud, I'll be fine, I hope…" He glided into the center and I was met by the gang with smiles and greetings. Like me, they had changed physically, more so the girls than the guys. The boys had gotten taller and stronger, especially Zyon who was the oldest of all us, looking like an adult every passing second. The girls had gotten slightly taller, with more noticeable curves and larger chests. . Camicazi though was who I paid attention to the most. She had gotten taller and her hair golden waves were even thicker and longer than before. The blue dress she wore brought out her curves and enlarged chest. Her jewled headband was weaved in with red flowers that made my breath hitch. She handed us flower crowns and we put them on our heads as we walked closer with the crowd of villagers who were waiting for Bertha's speech.

She was standing on a high makeshift stage where the Council members surrounded her with their dragons behind them. Deadshot flew over to her and was greeted with a pet on his nose which he squawked eagerly in return. He flew behind her and the other Council members, placing himself between their dragons. Bertha had recovered perfectly and was back to her duties as Chieftess, after the Outcast attack. More guards were deployed over the island and watchtowers were built all over the island, to spot any enemies that would try to attack us.

"We have come a long way in the past year." Bertha started. "We were once a tribe of mostly women and men who fought against dragons and any other enemies that stood against us before, but now we are a tribe of dragon riders where we live and coexist with various types of dragons in our everyday life! There are scars from our past, all physical, mental, and emotional, but we will overcome so we can look forward to the future. The Harvest Festival became a tradition during my great-grandmother's time where all of us villagers, to the highest and lowest, came together and celebrate our thanks. From life, food, enjoyment, the Gods, and so much more! For the first time ever in Bog history, dragons will be by our side as we dance, eat, and enjoy life! So let us enjoy the Harvest Festival with our new friends!" Bertha shouted from the stage, Deadshot roared in agreement to his rider's encouraging words. He shot a blast of fire into the large bonfire dominating the center of the village, casting a glow among all of us as we cheered at the start of the festivities.

My hand was grabbed and I turned to see Camicazi pulling me to the crowd of dancers who were surrounding the pit. Not wanting to be alone or humiliated greatly, I grabbed Valerie's hand, who grabbed Destin's, while the others watched in amusement.

"I can't dance to save my life, Camicazi!" I complained to her. She laughed wickedly and tugged even harder on my arm. Destin blushed hard with me as he was paired up with Valerie whose cheeks were tinted lightly with red.

"Well you will tonight Hiccup!" Camicazi demanded. She rolled her eyes at my protests. "And if I remember, you did do some dancing on your birthday."

"I'd hardly call stumbling around the Great Hall drunk and almost breaking my neck dancing."

"Well whatever it was, it was freaking hilarious if you ask me."

"In your eyes it was." The musicians started to play once again, but instead of an upbeat tune, it was slower. The melody sounded familiar, I just couldn't place where I've heard it before. "Is this…?"

"For the Dancing and the Dreaming?" she finished for me. "Yup, they chose one of the best songs." The song started off slow and I realized I had to start singing first.

"I'll swim and sail on savage seas/With never a fear of drowning/And gladly ride the waves of life/If you would marry me/No scorching sun nor freezing cold/Will stop me on my journey/If you will promise me your heart/ And love/ And love me for eternity." I started. I blushed hard since my singing voice wasn't all the best, but it wasn't bad either. Camicazi giggled softly as we raised our arms to lock together to begin the dance.

"My dearest one, my darling dear/ Your mighty words astound me/ But I've no need for mighty deeds/ When I feel your arms around me." Camicazi sung. My mouth opened a bit as we spun around softly to Camicazi's voice. For such a tough girl, she had a great singing voice. The rhythm of the song started to pick up and we held onto each other's hands as we started to follow the usual steps of the love song.

"But I would bring you rings of gold/ I'd even sing you poetry/ And I would keep you from all harm/ If you would stay beside me." Our steps were in perfect unison as we danced even quicker to the fastening beat of the song.

"I have no use for rings of gold/ I care not for your poetry/ I only want your hand to hold." We started to spin and clap with everyone else, but our eyes held onto each other as we sang the rest of the song in harmony.

"I only want you near me/ To love and kiss to sweetly hold/ For the dancing and the dreaming/ Through all life's sorrows/ And delights/ I'll keep your laugh inside me/ I'll swim and sail a savage seas/ With never a fear of drowning/ I'd gladly ride the waves so white/ And you will marry me!" we finished. I blushed hard as Camicazi was poking fun of my reddening face, since I couldn't look her in the eye after our dance. Valerie and Destin joined us, with the others who were commenting on our dances. I looked at all of my friends, who were so happy and at ease with their lives, while I still had some conflicting thoughts about my future.

 _A few hours later_

We were walking from the Great Hall after eating large amounts of food and sweets from the large dinner inside earlier. The bonfire had burned out hours ago and all the food was gone from the massive Harvest dinner. We were headed to a meadow to relax from the festivities, since we were all tired, but didn't feel like heading back to our homes just yet. I was sitting against Toothless, looking into the night sky. The only sounds of the night were the waves from the beach below and our calm breaths. Toothless was asleep as well as the other dragons, while the rest of us sat back in the comfortable silence. We didn't need words to discuss the peace we were surrounded by, but dark thoughts plagued my thoughts once again, as a question was constantly on my mind.

 _How long will this fragile peace last?_

* * *

Camicazi's POV

I was resting against Shadow, trying to fall asleep, as I was about to; I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked up in slight irritation to see Valerie. She held a finger to my lips, ceasing any of my protests, and was motioning for me to follow her. I rolled my eyes and got up slowly, not to disturb the others from their sleep. I threw a quick glance to Hiccup, to see him passed out on Toothless. I laughed softly and followed my best friend from the meadow as we walked towards the lake that was near it, making our conversation private from any prying ears.

"So you stopped me from sleeping, for what exactly?" I demanded. I was cranky not being able to sleep since I had a ton of duties to do in some hours. Valerie turned and gave me a quick once over, before turning back to the moonlit lake.

"How are you and Hiccup?" she asked suddenly. I wasn't expecting that at all to come from her mouth.

"Erm…, fine I guess." I replied in a confused manner. Valerie turned back to me and gave me a look as if I was a fool. She picked up a pebble and threw it at me in response. I glared at her and she stared at me even harder. I sighed out and took a pebble from the ground, throwing it into the water, making it skid out of sight. "He's been quiet, and that's not a good sign."

"Ding, ding, ding!" Valerie said mockingly. I glared at her while she gave me a cocky smirk in return, taking a rock and throwing it into the water, making it skid.

"It was weird, he was so happy a few hours before he left the forge and came to the festival with a gloomy look on his face." I turned back to Valerie, waiting for her opinion.

"Do you remember when we were twelve and our moms sat us down together to give us the talk?" I raised an eyebrow in response, but started to laugh at the memory. I hid my face between my hands, trying to hide the rest of my laughter, but failed. "Oh my Gods, and I told my mom that I would rather fall on my sword than even think about having a crush on a guy, let alone kissing one!" We shared a loud laugh, with tears threatening to spill from my eyes and Valerie bent over, clutching her stomach. We calmed down after our shared laughs and Valerie suddenly turned quiet.

"Four years until we're officially inducted, you as Chieftess and I as your right hand." She spoke softly, her eyes casting a rare, sad look on her entire face.

"What's with all this talk about the future Val, you're not being senile are you?"

"No, but you haven't noticed the way Hiccup cringes when we talk about the future or anything related to us moving on?"

"I know, I know he wants to leave."

"Let's just hope it's not anytime soon, Camicazi." She reassured me. We walked back towards the others and I just let sleep take over me until the morning light.

Bertha's POV

I was relaxing in my favorite chair back at the house, enjoying the rare silence of the night. The documents of various concerns of the village and request from other tribes rested on the nearby table which I ignored for the past hour. I didn't want to read or sign any treaties or marriage proposals from foolish Chiefs' in the archipelago. I knew if I put off my work, I would have a pile of more documents to look over for tomorrow, which I didn't want to, especially since the Harvest Festival was over and I still was riding on the adrenaline from it a few hours ago. I huffed and got out of my comfy chair and walked over to the table. I started to organize the various documents into piles, until one scroll caught my eye. It had the seal of the Berserker's and I immediately opened it. My eyes widened as the words on the page filled me with dread.

"My Gods. . ." I breathed out.

 _Dagur, the eldest and sole male child of Oswald the Agreeable is now being sworn in to be the new Berserker Chieftain. You are expected to attend Oswald's funeral ceremony, as well as Dagur's Chieftain Ceremony. A treaty is drawn up to be renewed as trade talks and much more will be discussed. Bring as much guests as you like, as the Berserkers would like plenty of guests to say farewell to Oswald and welcome Dagur openly._

I reread the entire document at least three times and I was still in shock. Oswald is dead and Dagur is now becoming Chief in a few short days. I could feel the headache coming and I clutched my head in annoyance and pain.

"Why now Frigga, just when everything is finally falling into place?"

 _Dawn_

I summoned the Council immediately at dawn, and I could care less for any of the mumbled protests that came out of their mouth. When they were all sitting in their places, I gave the scroll of Oswald's death to Hayden, and he read it aloud to the others. When he finished, everyone was silent. They gave a questioning look back to me.

"Not to be rude Bertha, but why is Oswald's death such a concern to you?" Dacey questioned.

"Chiefs and Chieftess' die all the time and get succeeded, what's so important about Oswald?" Lana asked.

"Have you forgotten that the Berserkers have the largest armada throughout the archipelago, as well as soldiers?" I hissed out. Everyone looked at each other as the seriousness of my words started to seep into their heads. "I'll obviously need to make an appearance as Chieftess, so I'll leave the matters of the tribe to you all when I'm gone. I need to make sure Dagur doesn't pull any risky stunts when we delegate contracts and trade agreements."

"What could that boy pull?" Hayden asked. He wore a frown on his face as he looked at me in slight confusion. "The boy just became Chief, surely he doesn't have enough time to find out Bog secrets."

"You're right, but he has thousands of soldiers at his disposal to do so." Dacey said. She clenched her dark locks in pain.

"We need to lock down the dragons immediately, no person or dragon goes out of Bog territory without permission."

"I agree, but Dagur becoming Chief isn't the only problem we have on our hands." I started. Everyone was waiting for me to continue, and that I did. "You don't find it strange that we haven't heard from Stoick and Modgan in the past year? No letters or any scrap of paper just to let us know a single thing. I even sent a new sword for Thuggory for his birthday and I didn't even get a single reply back." The Council looked at each other and started murmuring in response.

"Do you think they know about us riding dragons now?" Jonah started. "The ex-communication is probably a result of that."

"Hairy Hooligans, Bog-Burglars, Berserkers, Meatheads, and Outcasts are the five main tribes in the archipelago. Do you think they all know about the dragons?" I asked everyone.

"It depends, I believe Stoick knows now or probably found out in the past year, the man may be a fool, but he isn't that stupid. The Outcasts obviously know since Hiccup and Camicazi got captured by them, excluding our own tribe, the other two are wild cards." Lana commented.

"Wild cards, how so?"

"We get wood and any other construction materials for our ships from the Meatheads; we _cannot_ afford to lose them at all. If we get attacked by enemies, we're trapped on land if they demolish the ships we have."

"We have dragons now, can't we also train them in war tactics to defend us?"

"That's true, but we can't stay up in the air forever, we'll eventually have to land, and when we do, our enemies will be on our tail."

I sighed in defeat. "But the Berskerkers are slightly scaring me. Their land is the largest, ours second to them, and the only reason they're not dominating in wealth like us is because Oswald doesn't trade outside the core tribes of the archipelago."

"Judging from how Johann comes to trade, he had to go to the Berserkers, next the Outcasts, us, then the Meatheads, and finally the Hairy Hooligans. Stoick, the Outcasts, and possibly even the Meatheads know we train dragons. There's a high chance that Dagur doesn't know we do, but if he does we need to get rid of any evidence that we do. The boy is smart, deadly, and deranged, but the one thing that stands in his way is his pride. Appeal to that and we might have a chance."

"Let's say you attend the funeral and Chieftain ceremony, what'll stop the others from opening their mouths?"

"They can't prove anything with proof, Dagur is still young, smart, but young. We need to make sure that there is no evidence that connects us and dragons to do so." I called for a guard and asked him to summon the teenagers immediately. He ran and hopped onto his Gronckle, flying away to get Hiccup and the others.

* * *

Hiccup's POV

A roar woke us all up in the early morning. Toothless immediately jumped up and covered me, looking for the dragon that roared at us. I pushed him off me gently and got up off the ground to see a Council guard on his Gronckle, calling all our names. I looked at the others who were wide awake and alert, staring at the guard in interest. Camicazi walked toward the guard and he seemed to have a message since he was talking fast and pointing in the direction of the Great Hall. He hopped onto his Gronckle and left immediately. Camicazi turned back to us, and her face was a mixture ofhesitation, confusion, and a hint of fear.

"We need to go to the Great Hall, now." She ordered. Camicazi hopped onto Shadow and she flew at top speed, without an explanation. Judging from her reaction, we didn't say anything but hopped onto our dragons and went into the Great Hall. As we entered, there was a tense silence that could suffocate us all. When I came into view, all the Councilors and Bertha turned to me, and they all had the same look of relief, mixed with fear.

"We called you all here because this letter is of grave importance. The death of Chief Oswald from the Berserker tribe is something to be taken seriously, before you protest. With Oswald gone, and Dagur ruling in his stead, the Berserkers loyalty could change at any moment. We need to make sure the dragons are not –"

"Are you getting rid of the dragons?" I asked.

"No, we just need to make sure there's no trace connecting us to the dragons. Dagur is a mad boy who will do anything to get what he wants."

"How do you know he'll –"

"Before you attempt to finish that sentence, the guy earned the name Dagur the _Deranged,_ if that doesn't get your guard up, I don't know what will." Valerie commented. I gave her a small glare and she just shrugged her shoulders in response. Everyone was starting to argue and I could see the tension in Bertha and her anger about to explode. Camicazi as well, since she got up on the table and stared down most of the Councillors and the gang. She picked up a shield that was nearby, and tossed it across the room, making it break with a shattering noise, earning the silence of the entire hall. We all turned to see Camicazi with a wild look on her face. Even Bertha was rendered speechless at her daughter's actions.

"The dragons are not a problem, it's Dagur and the other Chief's and their heirs. How will they react when they find out? We cannot have the entire archipelago against us, and even if we have dragons, we do not have thousands to command help and protect us. We've entered a period of peace for the first time in Viking history, the Bog-Burglars are training dragons as well as riding them! We will not bend to the will of others because they're too prideful to overlook their own views on dragons, like we did! We are Bog-Burglars, and we do not bend to the will of others, we break tradition and create rules that fit our standards." Camicazi's words rendered everyone speechless. I have never seen her like that and I knew right then and there, that she would make the best Chieftess of the Bogs.

"And what do you propose, Camicazi?" Bertha sat back down in her chair, and watched Camicazi carefully, testing each of her words as she spoke. Camicazi looked Bertha in the eye and turned back to the rest of us as we waited for her to continue.

"We attend the ceremony on Berserker territory, but bring our dragons as a last resort in case any fighting breaks out. If Stoick or any Chief disagrees, we need to make a quick escape off that accursed island. The Council will take care of the tribe when we're gone, but when we're on Berserker territory, dragon talk is banned completely. Not even the slightest slip, we don't want to be executed or jailed at all."

"What happens if we bump into Stoick and his circle of Hooligans?" Bertha asked. I turned to look at her and her blue eyes bore into my own with such intensity that would've made me shrink away in fear in the past, but I held her stare and a small smile graced her face.

"Berserker territory is big, but it isn't that big. We're bound to run into them at some point, and when we do just act as if nothing has changed."

"And if they try to attack us?"

"The treaty's broken and the Berkians can fend for themselves when winter comes."

I was quiet during Camicazi's and Bertha's talking, not out of fear, but curiosity. Even though I wasn't the ideal heir for Stoick, I had much knowledge on the succession rules and the troubles of a new and unruly Chief. There was no way that Dagur wasn't going to do something bold and insane during the ceremony.

"I want to come with you all." I spoke, which instantly quieted the room. I looked around to see everyone giving me an incredulous look, while Bertha just raised an eyebrow in response. "Before you say anything, Oswald made life bearable when he came to Berk for treaty signings and any events that Stoick threw for the heck of it."

Bertha let out a sigh in response. "I can't deny your wish on wanting to pay respects to Oswald, but you'll be recognized immediately. You're not just putting yourself in danger, but the entire Bog-Burglar tribe. In Stoick's eyes, he'll probably twist any reason and say we captured you for gain."

"But I'm not his son anymore, what point is there?"

"The law, Hiccup," Dacey interrupted. "You may choose not to be his son, but you still are in the eyes of the law. If you are not dead or Stoick hasn't formally disowned you, you are still his son, no matter your personal views on him."

"That's complete moot in my opinion." I muttered.

"Sorry Hiccup, but there's no way you'll be coming. For now, just find any evidence that links us to the dragons that anyone can use against us. Camicazi, pack your finest clothing and offerings. We'll be leaving in two days. Dacey and Ulrik, would you mind joining me with your children, as part of our entourage to the Berserker territory?"

"Of course we will." They replied in unison.

"All right, Hiccup will recover any information lost that'll connect us to the dragons. Ulrik and Dacey, with their families, will join Camicazi and me on Berserker territory. The rest of the Councilors will oversee the island when we are gone and the teens will oversee the Academy and their duties. We'll be leaving in two days' time. You're dismissed everyone. " Everyone started to leave, and Bertha had already started to order guards to follow Camicazi in preparations for the ship that would be leaving in two days. I didn't say anything as I walked outside and hopped onto Toothless, and flew straight to the forge, doing any work that would keep me busy and away from any thoughts, of the impending funeral of Oswald the Agreeable.

* * *

 _Berk_

Stoick's POV

" _What!?"_ I yelled out, shocking all the Council members and the guards in the Great Hall right now.

"He's gone, Stoick, Oswald is dead." Spitelout repeated. I got up from my chair and paced back and forth around it, seething in anger.

"How is this possible?" I sat back down and ran my hand through my red beard. "Oswald is one of the best Chiefs in the archipelago, how did he die!? And now Dagur is taking his place, I don't hate the boy, but his future actions will be questionable from his, previous dealings."

"The boy earned the nickname Deranged; of course his actions will be questionable." I snapped my head toward my cocky younger brother, ready to snap his neck with my hand from his sarcastic comment. Ever since i acknowledged Snotlout as my heir, Spietlout's been getting cockier by each passing second of the day. The others felt the tension between us, and instinctively leaned back. I ignored him and turned back to the rest of the Council. Berk hasn't been the best in the past year. Ever since Hiccup had disappeared with his dragon, I had made up a story of Hiccup running away to explore new lands, and was eventually lost at sea during the winter storm. About all of Berk believed me, except for the Ingerman family and Gobber. Speaking of Gobber, we never spoke and I ordered him to never speak of Hiccup again. The occasional glance was made, but it was full of distrust and even some hate. Gobber had brought on a new apprentice, but barely sung or spoke to the small boy who took Hiccup's place. He just went to the forge, got his meals sent to him by barmaids, and went home afterwards, and repeated the same routine every day.

I dismissed everyone and made my way back home, rubbing my head in order to stop the incoming headache and stress that I could feel. As I opened the door, I came into my quiet and bright home. It was still warm, but barely due to the oncoming chill of autumn. I took off my cape and helmet, determined to get some rest, but that didn't work. The sun filtered through the cracks and windows of the house, making it bright, impossible to take a nap. I just walked through my home, trying to clear my thoughts, but they seemed to get dark, as I stopped in front of a locked room that I've been avoiding for the past year. I let out a sigh and withdrew a key, hidden in one of my pockets of my pants, unlocking the door to Hiccup's room.

The room was covered in dust, on top of every surface possible. It was bare of any hint of life, making it cold and drafty, despite the sun shining through the window and cracks of the walls. I remember after burning the designs and drawings of Hiccup and his dragon, I came in the room with a blinding rage. Tearing the floor, and looking for any more pieces of evidence of Hiccup's betrayal to the tribe. I found dozens of more drawings hidden under his desk and floor. There were drawings of inventions, hidden in plain sight, which I tore to shreds in anger. His room was a mess, half the floor torn up, his desk destroyed, the wall scratched with marks from my sword, and his bed, broken. The room was a mess and I was too. I remember crying afterwards, losing the last piece of family after Valka was taken a few weeks after his birth.

"Oh Valka, if only you were here. . ." I said to myself in the cold and destroyed room. I shook my head, and quickly left, locking the door and any emotions I showed. I walked downstairs to start making preparations for Oswald's funeral and Dagur's ceremony.

Snotlout's POV

"And when I killed that Nightmare, I used all my strength to destroy the sucker!" I boasted to the barmaids. They laughed and giggled hearing my story of slaying the Nightmare last year. With me becoming Chief, I had more attention on me than usual, and I craved it. Dad had gifted me with bigger and better weapons, the Chieftain throne was my mine, and nobody could get in my way. After Dad told me about Oswald's death, I was supposed to leave with him and some other high members of the tribe; I already threw together my stuff and packed it. According to Uncle Stoick, the Bog-Burglars and the Outcasts were not to be trusted at all. More so the Bogs, I didn't really know or care so why. As I was about to tell the girls another story, the doors to the Great Hall opened, and I turned to see Astrid walking in, covered in sweat and dirt. She was getting hotter each passing year, but there was no way I would try to flirt again with her after the stunt she pulled last year with Ruffnut. I turned to my left and saw Ruffnut and Tuffnut arguing over some stupid topic, and when Astrid was in their sight, she quickly averted her eyes and went straight to the large food table, getting milk with bread and eggs, sitting by herself at a table far away from all of us. It was weird how my useless cousin's disappearance changed everything. I was Chief but our gang was broken up. Ruff and Tuff were by each other's side more than mine, Fishlegs barely talked to me, and Astrid was obviously ignored by the four of us together.

"Even when you're supposed to be dead, you're still causing problems Useless." I muttered. The girls looked at me in confusion and I ignored their looks and distracted them with another story about one of my great achievements.

* * *

Fishlegs' POV

"Does he ever shut up?" Ruffnut hissed. I laughed at her comment with Tuffnut as we sat down and ate breakfast together. I came into the Great Hall a little while after Astrid had, since I helped Gobber deliver some tools to some families early this morning. I looked at Ruffnut who was fully healed from her injuries in the past year, she could walk without any assistance, but she would always bear scars from that night.

"Unfortunately not, and since he's going to be Chief, it's never going to stop." I told her.

"Just wait till we have to be stuck on that boat with him tomorrow."

"Tomorrow, what's going on tomorrow?"

"Oswald's dead, and all of us are going to be part of the farewell group, well that's what our dad told us." My eyes widened at Tuffnut's words. How is it possible that Oswald is dead? He's one of the best Chief's in the archipelago.

"That's bad _, that's really, really bad!_ " I jumped up in protest, but felt something bump into me. I heard a clatter and a grunt, as I turned around to see Astrid on the ground, with her breakfast all over her. There was shock on her face, but concealed with anger. She immediately stood up and slammed her hands down on our table, forcing me back into my seat.

"Watch it!" she growled at me. Astrid was even colder than before, she barely acknowledged us and dismissed anyone or anything that wasn't worth her time. Her cruel glare silenced me and before I could say anything in response, Ruffnut got up from her seat and pulled Astrid away from our table. Astrid just looked shocked at her former friend's actions, but just left, leaving the Great Hall and any pride she had at the moment.

"Well that was awkward. . ." Tuffnut said. Ruffnut and I both glared at him, and he just shrugged his shoulders, popping a piece of fish into his mouth.

* * *

 _Bog territory – Docks- 2 days later_

Hiccup's POV

The gang and I were together at the docks, saying goodbye to each other. Bertha was already on the large ship, flanked by guards and shouting orders all around, finishing last-minute preparations for the trip. We all cringed when one guard tripped over a box, spilling the contents of a basket that got Bertha cursing in another language.

"Maybe it's a good thing I'm not allowed to come with you guys." I said. We all laughed at my comment and I turned to Camicazi, who was shaking her head at the guard that dared to risk her mother's anger on a very important, yet stressful day.

"I can't believe we're all going to be separated after all this time." Devin spoke. He put his hand on his heart, in mock hurt. We rolled our eyes at him, while Palva just smacked him upside his head. He clenched his now bruised head, glaring at the petite warrior.

"We're only going to be separated for a few days, a week at the most." She told him.

"I know that!" Devin pouted like a young child, and I just couldn't hold in my laughter as it came out of my mouth. I clutched my stomach, while Zyon cracked a smile and the girls just smirked. When I finally got the laughter out of my system, I looked up at the others who had a small sad smile, on their faces. "I thought we would have some more time together, you guys." Zyon clasped Destin's shoulder in comfort to a response to his words.

"This funeral isn't going to change anything, you guys." Valerie reasoned. "We'll be back here riding dragons, sword fighting, and playing pranks on each other by the weeks end."

"Val's right, now shut up and hug all of us." Camicazi said. We all just followed Camicazi's demands, and huddled together for one big group hug. The sun shined down on us as our arms wrapped around each other's waists and our heads lightly brushing against one another. "We will return." We separated from one another, as Valerie, Destin, and Dalla made their way to the ship, while the others moved away from Camicazi and I, giving us some time alone. I turned back to her, staring into her warm, blue eyes.

"Camicazi, I –"

She cut me off. "You want to leave, don't you?" I blinked in astonishment, with my mouth hanging open in shock, and my green eyes widening every second. "I'm not an idiot, Hiccup. I can tell when you _crave_ something; you don't want to stay here. If you want to go, then you can go."

"I don't want to leave the Bog tribe permanently, I just want to explore. There's more to the world out there, Camicazi. It is a big and beautiful world. Most of us live and die in the same corner where we were born and ever get to see any of it. I don't want to be most of us."

"We're not most of us, Hiccup. We're heirs to Chieftain Thrones."

"I refuse to be an heir, Camicazi. I never chose to be –"

"None of us chose our family members, Hiccup." She snapped at me. "There are times where I wish I wasn't the heiress to Chieftess Bertha, the sole and strongest female leader of the only female tribe dominated by women in the archipelago. There are times where i wonder if I can even live up to my mother's legacy. She's going to be remembered for her battle skills, her leadership abilities, her plans when it comes to dragons, and so much more! What can I do, that won't overshadow my mom, but be equal to her? So, Hiccup, don't run away, the farther you try to run, the faster the past catches up to you." Camicazi gave me a quick peck on the cheek, before rushing to the ship. She waved goodbye to all of us and I kept my eyes on her figure, until it was completely out of my field of vision.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and turned to see Zyon and Palva staring at me with a sad look on their faces. I just patted Zyon and walked with them up the steps to where our dragons were.

"That seemed, heated." Palva spoke. She stared at me, giving me a curious look.

"It kind of was."

"Do we even want to know what that was about?"

"Camicazi thinks that I'm running away from my past." We walked past some baby Gronckles who were playing around with each other. I smiled lightly at one of them who caught my attention. Zyon and Palva were both quiet, who looked at each other, then back at me in silence. "You guys. . ."

"She's right, Hic." Palva spoke, her dark eyes staring straight at me.

"Yup, you can't let go." Zyon joined in.

"This comes from the guy who hid a Night Fury and scavenged the forest for food in order to hide his secret from our Chieftess for how many years?" I smirked at Zyon whose ears were turning red with embarrassment. He smacked me on the backside of my head, and I grumbled in protest. We all whistled for our dragons, who were probably still sleeping back at our respective homes.

"I thought we were talking about Hiccup's issues, not mine."

"So you agree with me, that you have issues?"

"For someone so quiet and small, you're pretty annoying."

"You guys. . ." I spoke, trying to get them to focus on my problem once again.

"Sorry." They apologized in unison. We heard loud roars and turned to see our dragons with grumpy looks on their faces, mad from being awake so early and not getting their breakfast yet. We laughed at their faces and earned tail smacks in return. We got onto the backs and I gave a quick pat to his head, before we all flew off to our respective places.

Toothless flew to a stop in front of home, before I opened the door, heading upstairs to my room to pack, while Toothless ate his breakfast of fish. I hoped he didn't eat too much, since we'll have to leave in a few hours, and I couldn't have him fall asleep in mid-flight because of a food coma. I started to pack an extra set of clothes, some journals, weapons, especially my Gronckle sword and shield, and any other essentials into a basket. Hoisting it over my back, I ran downstairs, back to Toothless. I placed the basket near the door, and turned to see my best friend lazily asleep on the ground, with a fish bone hanging near his mouth.

"Of course." I laughed at the sight of my best friend and left out the door, letting him rest a bit more until we had to leave later today. I ran down to the Academy, since Vinnie and Sage gave me the day off, but was met with surprise, seeing the gate shut. I pulled the lever to open the gate, and walked inside to see Dark Star and Bone Crusher, saddled with bags and supplies. They roared in greeting to me, and I walked over to give them pats on their heads in response. A cage opened, and I turned to see Zyon and Palva walking towards me.

"Why are the gates closed, you guys?" I asked the both of them.

"We're going to help you find evidence." Palva said. She hopped onto Bone Crusher, giving him a quick pat.

"What about lessons?"

Zyon just shrugged and put some rope into a bag tied onto Dark Star's saddle. He hopped on and motioned me to get behind him. I just followed what he asked and got onto Dark Star. The dragons flew upwards, in the direction of my home. When we got there, I hopped off and turned back to the two of them, waiting for an answer.

Zyon sighed out in annoyance. "Hurry up and grab Toothless Hiccup, classes can be missed for a few days."

"But—"

Palva started to glare at me. "Oh for Freya's sake, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock! If we help you search for evidence, we can sneak into Berserker territory to attend Oswald's funeral, you did say you wanted to pay your respects?!"

"You forgot 'the Third'." Palva grabbed a dagger from her side and waved it in the air dangerously. I got the message and quickly ran inside, too see Toothless still in the same position as before. I shook him awake and he grumbled out of protest. I placed his saddle on him and fastened the basket and any other materials I needed onto the saddle, double checking everything before leaving the house.

"Finally, now let's go." Zyon spoke. We all motioned our dragons to fly upwards, off to my former hideout from Berk.

* * *

 _Berk Docks-Mid-afternoon_

Stoick's POV

We didn't even leave Berk yet, and I was already tempted to drown myself and give my soul to the Gods. I didn't have enough Council members to bring, so I ordered Gobber to join me and the teenagers at the Berserker territory for Oswald's departure. I was standing on the ship, observing the activity below. The fishermen were pulling fish from the sea with their nets, traders were selling items and collecting payment, and the guards were putting our supplies on the ship that would transfer us to the Berserkers. I looked at the village, and a small smile of gratitude. We barely survived the past winter with minimal supplies and food, but we were alive. I had to borrow again from Mogadon, but it was worth the survival of Berk. I just hope Snotlout doesn't ruin or destroy Berk when it is his time to accept the Chieftainship. I could hear loud voices, louder than the people on the docks already, and I knew right then it was the teenagers coming. I could feel the headache coming on and they haven't even gotten on the ship.

The twins were arguing as usual, punching and even biting one another as they waked up the plank to get aboard. The twins weren't as violent as before last year, I'm guessing Ruffnut's accident softened them up to actually care for one another. Astrid came up next, her axe on her hand and a basket carrying clothes and supplies that she would need. She noticed the twins, and tensed up slightly. Fishlegs came after, with his head buried in another book. I was pretty sure he was avoiding my sight after i ordered the Ingerman family to not say one word about Hiccup. Gobber came after, ignoring me and outing a comforting hand on Fishlegs' shoulder, to calm him down. Finally, Snotlout came aboard, strutting like a bloody peacock as if he owned the world. It took every ounce of self-control to not knock the boy silly and give him a reality check.

The air was tense with distrust all around. Nobody trusted Astrid except for me and Gobber. Snotlout was on the edge with the twins while hating Fishlegs. I distrusted Gobber and Fishlegs and threatened them to not say a single word about my traitor son. This was going to be the most intense and awkward ship ride of my life. I cleared my throat to gain everyone's attention.

"Oswald is dead and Dagur is going to become Chief in less than a day. You are to be on your best behavior and not embarrass your tribe. As young warriors, you will join me to pay homage to Oswald, but to gain new fighting skills and interact with others to get great wisdom for the future. Gobber, Snotlout, and I will attend the negotiation meeting and we will all regroup to attend the party in the afternoon and the funeral late at night." They all nodded in agreement and left to go put their stuff away in their respective rooms. "SET SAIL!"

The ship started to move and we would be in Berserker territory in about six hours. I would be seeing old friends like Mogadon, but enemies as well, like Alvin. There were rumors flying around saying that he died by dragon fire, but I knew that wasn't true. Alvin wasn't someone who would go down easy. Speaking of Alvin, Bertha was in open war with the Outcasts. I heard from Johann that the island's defenses were even stronger than before. Bertha was dangerous; she now had dragons at her back and the second largest army in the whole archipelago. Things weren't looking so well if I made an enemy out of her, but her betrayal stung. She needed to be put in her place after she took Hiccup and convinced him to train dragons for them. My people are dying every other day and she's riding dragons for fun. I growled and hoped the ship would make it to the Berserker tribe, so Dagur could know what he was dealing with.

 _Six hours later – Berserker territory_

We were in our lodging and I stripped myself of my day clothes and armor, before changing into some nightwear to sleep in. Vorg had told us of Dagur's change in the funeral rites, and to say I was angry was an understatement. I was ready to burst with fury, how could Dagur be so selfish and cruel? I walked to my window and noticed a house across from me. When I made out the banner of the tribe, I was instantly met with fury. It was the Bog-Burglars.

 _I don't know what game you're playing Bertha, but I will not lose._

* * *

 _On a secluded beach over the ocean way past Bog territory_

 _Night_

Hiccup's POV

I have never in my life rode Toothless that fast before, even when we were flying in the sky doing stunts. The six of us were exhausted and wary as we slumped onto the small beach in the middle of the ocean. The beach was small enough to hold us and our dragons, but not large enough for people to stay for too long. We pushed the dragons to their limit, wary of being spotted by any ships from tribes that were going to Berserker Island for Oswald's funeral. The secluded beach wasn't too far from the cave, probably two hours at the most, but the dragons needed a break and we needed to hide. The air was cold, but not bitter enough to bring out heavy furs. We couldn't risk a fire, in fear of being spotted from any ships passing, so our dragons were our source of heat. We brought out baskets of fish for Toothless, Dark Star, and Bone Crusher, who were eagerly eating them up. I was drinking some water from a canteen while Palva and Zyon were sitting down on the sand, munching on some berries and dried beef.

"That was some . . . intense . . . flying" I breathed out. Zyon and Palva nodded in agreement to my panted statement. I turned to see Toothless passed out from exhaustion; I smiled sadly and gave him a rub down, earning a pleasant roar in return. "Sorry about that bud, it'll be much easier in the morning." Toothless opened his piercing green eyes, and smiled to me through them. I returned his smile with one of my own, before leaving him to rest completely. I walked back to Zyon and Palva who were packing away their share of food, before throwing me some bread and fish. I gave them my thanks before sitting down next to Zyon, eating my food completely before any of us started a conversation again.

"How far are we from the cave?" Palva asked.

"About an hour or two, but we need our rest." I replied.

"We also can't be spotted, any Chief and their party will be headed to Berserker territory for Oswald, we can't take even the slightest risks of exposure." Zyon added.

"It would be better to leave at night where the dragons have less risk of being captured, but we need to make sure every ship has passed us, especially the Hairy Hooligans." Palva stated. I inwardly cringed, but kept a stoic face on the outside.

"How far is the Hairy Hooligan tribe from here?"

"About a five day flight at a regular speed on dragon back." I answered. "The Berserker territory is close to Berk, so it would take the Hairy Hooligans a few hours to get there. Berserkers and Meatheads are neighbors to Berk."

"We should be safe then, from how all the tribes are based, we Bogs are probably the last one to know about Oswald. News doesn't travel that fast in the archipelago, especially by boat, even if the weather is in favor." Palva decided.

"That's not good, if Bertha and the others get there last, who knows what Stoick would say to Dagur?" I said.

"It's all right, I'm sure Bertha and the others can hold their own against those Hooligans." Zyon confirmed. We all nodded our heads in agreement to his statement.

"Now enough about Dagur, more about you Hiccup." Palva smirked. She laid down on the cool sand, kicking her legs childishly, as if she were a child listening to an entertaining story.

I just looked at her uncertainly.

"Tell us why you want to leave Hiccup." She stated.

"I said that I want to travel and find more tribes –"

"Tribes that is farther and farther away from Berk." Zyon spoke. I glared at him and he smirked cockily. "I hit the mark, didn't i? Hiccup, if you don't let go of your past, it's gonna come back and bite you, and bite you hard."

"Fine!" I threw my arms up in the air in anger. "I'm running! I don't want to be anywhere near Berk because it brings back all the horrid memories of how I was treated. I didn't want to go on this mission because every second reminds me of how my peaceful life right now can be destroyed by the Hairy Hooligans!" Zyon and Palva looked at each other, then back to me, in surprise of my outburst. I heard a roar and turned to see Toothless and the rest of the dragons staring at us in suspicion, looking for a threat that caused my outburst. Toothless stared at me longer, before I gave him a fake, reassuring smile. I knew he didn't believe me, but he just watched me for a bit longer, before going back to sleep. I turned back to Zyon and Palva, whose eyes haven't left me at all.

"I didn't mean to push, but you need to know that your past will screw you over if you don't confront it soon." Zyon spoke; he was choosing his words carefully, hoping to avoid another one of my outbursts. "I don't know how or when, but you're going to do it."

"And what makes you so sure about that?"

"You didn't change your name at all, you kept it and didn't even make a slight change. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third is a mouthful, but it is recognizable to the tribes. I think you kept your name because despite all your hatred for Berk, you still have some love, even if it is small." I looked away from Zyon and clenched my teeth in anger.

"Lay off him Zyon…" Palva warned. "Hiccup, there had to be _someone_ on Berk you depended on."

"Gobber," I started. "He's the village Blacksmith on Berk who taught me almost everything I needed to know on how to work a forge. I guess you could say that he was my father; he listened, talked, and taught me everything I needed to know about life. His sarcasm was something I definitely picked up."

"We've noticed." The dark haired warriors said in unison.

"Do you miss him?" Palva asked after a minute of silence.

"I never really thought much about anyone on Berk after I left, but when I think about it now, I was awful. I yelled and cursed, putting blame on him for what happened to me. Oh Thor. . ." I clenched my head in silent anger, but before I could, I felt sand on my face. I coughed and sputtered, clearing the sand from my hair and face. I looked up to see Palva holding sand in her hands, threatening to throw again.

"Listen up, Hiccup. You are not leaving us, not anytime soon. It's been a year since you've came to stay, and you have survived capture and battle with Alvin, a trial, and a possible death sentence. You have more luck than any person I know in this entire archipelago. It won't be now, or today, maybe in the future, but we all know you will confront your past and apologize to Gobber, don't try and deny it." Palva turned from me and walked over to Bone Crusher, pulling a blanket from a basket near his saddle and throwing it over herself, trying to get warm so she can fall asleep. I turned back to Zyon, who was up and dusting the sand from himself. He held a hand out, and I grabbed it with him pulling me up. I dusted the sand off my body and we headed back to our dragons. I didn't bother for a blanket; unfolding Toothless' wings and tucking myself underneath them, letting the darkness of them lull me to sleep.

* * *

 _Berserker Territory_

Camicazi's POV

I absolutely hated traveling by boat. I hated it, I completely hated it with a passion. I can't believe that was my life before dragons came aboard. I've been sitting with Valerie and Dalla, talking about random things to pass the time. Destin had long abandoned us in comfort for his bed below deck. And that was three hours ago. We were desperate to take a quick flight, but any hint of dragons could equal all of our deaths. The dragons were restless and I was pretty sure that they were cranky for being locked away without any flight and fish can only do so much to calm them. Before I could think of anything else, a voice interrupted my thoughts.

"BERSERK LAND AHEAD!" a guard yelled. Everyone immediately reacted. I immediately ran next to my mom, whose blue eyes that matched my own, turn cold and steely. Valerie, Dalla, and Destin joined us a few seconds, the latter looking a bit messy, probably from being woken up from his sleep. Ulrik and Dacey joined us, standing behind their respective children. We had about a dozen guards protecting us, a set of three on each side, covering us in a square formation.

As the ship came closer to the Berserker tribe, I remembered I've only been to Berserker territory once, for a treaty signing when I was twelve. It was still as I remembered with large homes, ships, and people. I could see the huge armada of ships that were sitting idly in the sea on my left, and it sent a slight chill down my spine. I looked up to my mom whose eyes were focused only on the guards near the docks, getting ready to welcome us.

"Remember everyone, do not let your guard down at any second." Mom ordered. We all nodded in unison and I kept a stoic front, not giving a hint to any of my emotions. A Berserker guard brought out a plank for us to walk down and our guards slowly broke away, so mom and I walked down from our ship, to stand on the docks, but instead of Dagur greeting us, we were met by Vorg, the Captain of the Berserker armada. Vorg was a bit of an airhead, but that man could decimate an entire tribe and won't even bat an eye afterwards.

"The Bog-Burglar tribe, with their Chieftess Bertha and heiress Camicazi, welcome to the Berserker tribe." He greeted us. We gave him a quick nod in response, and mom introduced the rest of our party, quickly wanting to get introductions out of the way, so we could all rest.

"You Bogs are the second to last to arrive, every tribe came either in the afternoon."

"Well, Berserker territory is the farthest tribe from us, it will take some time to get to you guys."

"Whatever, you're here and that's all there is. Dagur's ceremony will start in the late afternoon and finally Oswald's funeral will be at night."

Mom and I looked at each other in confusion. There were murmurs from behind us, and I knew that everyone else felt slightly disturbed from the way Dagur changed the usual funeral rites for Chieftains.

"Shouldn't Oswald be laid to rest, _before_ Dagur's crowning?" I spoke out. Vorg stared at me in boredom, writing me off as insignificant. It took everything I had to not pummel his face, barely keeping my anger in check, if it wasn't for mom's hand resting on my shoulder, slowly tightening.

"Dagur has decided to be crowned first, so he can immediately take up his duties as Chief, as his father would want him to. He can send Oswald to Valhalla, knowing that that his throne is well taken care of."

"How thoughtful of Dagur, I'll keep that in mind." We were escorted to our lodge, and once the door closed, I let out a sigh of relief. We all turned to my mom, who had a scowl on her face, marring her previously stoic face. She turned to us, and just sent us off to bed, too exhausted to speak. Valerie and I shared a room, Dalla and her mom, while Destin joined Ulrik, while mom had her own room. Valerie and I went into our room, getting ready for bed. We moved around quietly, putting all of our clothes and supplies away. When I came out of the bath, I saw Valerie already in her nightwear on her bed, braiding her hair, but I could tell her mind was in another place.

"Do you think the dragons will be all right?" she said.

"They'll be fine, but I hope tomorrow we don't get any surprises."

"I hope Hiccup and the others are having fun."

"Let's hope so."

* * *

A/N: I know it has been a while since i last updated DW, and i am truly sorry about that. I have had so many things happening at once, i had to put DW on hold for a bit before coming back to write. When i first started to write this chapter, i was stuck. I had no idea how to start it off and i kept on scratching out ideas and deleting documents before i finished it finally. In this section, the tribes are coming together to crown Dagur and say goodbye to Oswald. I needed an event that would bring everybody at one location, so i decided on Oswald's death. The tribes are coming together, which means unpleasant reunions between enemies and supposed friends. This chapter explores the relationship and fragile peace the tribes have with one another, especially the Bog-Burglars who need plenty of support to avoid obliteration. This chapter sets the stage of what is going to happen in the future sequel, _Broken and Caged._ In the next part of this chapter, you are going to get plenty of drama and discord between the Bog-Burglars and other tribes that are on Berserker territory for Oswald. The teenagers and adults are all going in different directions in the Bog-Burglar tribe, while Hiccup's absence causes extreme distrust between the characters on Berk. You're going to see some new characters and conflicts being brought up so you definitely won't be bored. There are about three parts to Unpleasant Reunions and Funerals, since the chapter is at least 20-25,000+ words and i needed to break it up, since i felt that it was way too long to sit down and read all at my profile for updates for the future of Dark Wings. PLEASE **REVIEW** AFTERWARDS SO I CAN GET YOUR THOUGHTS. NEXT UPDATE IS TOMORROW.


	15. Unpleasant Reunions and Funerals, Part 2

A/N: **REVIEWS ARE NOT BEING SHOWN WHEN PUBLISHED, SO PLEASE SEND ME A PM INSTEAD UNTIL THE PROBLEM IS FIXED. ALSO, PLEASE VOTE IN THE POLL ON MY PROFILE.**

* * *

Camicazi's POV

We all woke up, headed to the Great Hall for breakfast in the late morning, hungry after the journey from late last night. Today was going to be an eventful day that was for sure. After breakfast, negotiations will be made for treaties and any issue a tribe had with the Berserker tribe. After that, all of us were allowed to explore until Dagur's crowning ceremony in the late afternoon, and then at last, Oswald's funeral. I was still peeved on how Dagur is insulting his father's memory, but then again, I shouldn't be too surprised, since I remembered how he would shoot venomous glares at Oswald anytime he scolded him.

Before we could eat, we had to pay homage to the new soon-to-be Chief. Dagur was sitting in the Chieftain chair, stuffing meat into his mouth like a starved animal. When he caught sight of us, he swallowed and gave us a smile. I tried not to cringe at that twisted smile he gave us, it made me want to be anywhere else than right here. Dagur's appearance had changed from the last time I saw him, he now was tall with a decent amount of noticeable muscle, but still somewhat thin. His red hair had grown, now braided behind his back. He wore a brown shirt over a green tunic tucked into his tan pants. He had some armor on as well as his helmet resting upon his head. He was already wearing the Berserker Chieftain belt, gold with a Skrill engraved onto it. The only thing that didn't change were his dark green eyes that were lit up in madness. Dagur sat up and looked at us in eager, like a child waiting for a Snoggletog present. All of us stopped and bowed in respect. Dagur motioned for us to rise.

"It's about time you Bogs woke up! I mean honestly, I know women need their beauty sleep, but how much do you really need, am I right?" His guards laughed at his insulting comment towards us, and I bit the inside of my cheek so hard, I started to taste blood. Mom didn't say anything yet, but she tightened her fists so hard, I was surprised her nails didn't break the skin of her palm.

"Thank you for the concern and we hope Oswald's death doesn't rack you with grief," she said finally. Dagur's smile was wiped off of his face, which turned into disgust. It was as if he had a bad taste in his mouth, but then again, Dagur will forever hate his father.

"My father was weak and couldn't lead the Berserker tribe to glory; I intend to change that as Chief." He turned his sight to me and gave me a smile full of lust as he stared at my body. I gave him a venomous look in return. Before mom could warn me about what I just did, Dagur's attention went from us to a new figure.

"Rumor had it, you were dead." He said. I looked at Mom who had confusion written all over her face, I turned to ask Valerie, but then noticed her face was changed to a picture of disgust with the smallest hint of fear. I looked to the figure that caused our party to freeze, and my eyes widened in surprise.

Alvin the Treacherous is alive after all.

We didn't follow up that much of the Outcasts after the battle with them that night. After mom got hurt, the Council and mom put stress into her recovery and strengthening the island's defenses. We didn't get that many disturbances from them, probably three failed attacks that were quickly crushed by our dragons and warriors. Mom's look of confusion was changed into a cocky smirk, as she saw Alvin's full appearance.

Alvin was a complete mess. His armor may have hidden most of his skin, but his face showed perfectly. It was now covered in a permanent red-black scar that went from his left eyebrow, diagonally to his bottom lip. His eyes seemed to darken with the color of the scar, making them appear black, the man looked like a demon to me. His neck was blotchy in the same coloring of the scar on his face. His hair on his head was short and spiky, while his beard was completely gone. Alvin the Treacherous should be renamed to Alvin the Damaged; I have seen many scars before, but the one permanently on Alvin's face was enough to make me lose my appetite. Alvin noticed my mother and sneered. Our guards had their hands above the hilt of their swords, ready to act if a fight broke out.

The Great Hall quieted as they observed our actions. You would have to be a fool to not notice the tension between us. I noticed a few Chiefs were looking at us in interest, but they wisely kept out of our glaring contest, knowing that having Alvin the Treacherous as an official enemy was dangerous. Dagur looked amused out of the whole spectacle. He picked up his drink, sipping it as he watched us, as if he was enjoying a comedy show. I was wondering when Dagur would intervene, but he seemed content in letting us duke it out. After a few more minutes of all of us glaring at each other, Dagur noticed none of us were going to pull swords anytime soon, so he clapped his hands to get our attention. "Well as much as I _loved_ the show, no blood being spilled is not really any fun at all for me. Is it true a dragon almost burned you to death?"

Alvin just smiled, while his eyes just shined with malice. "Yes, but unfortunately that Nadder escaped my grasp. If I had the chance to get it, I would've sliced it open and painted my door red with its blood. Wouldn't you agree Bertha?"

I had to give it to my mother; she didn't give one hint of emotion. Her face was stone cold and her hands still, not even reaching for her sword like our guards were. Before she could open her mouth, I stepped in. "As much as I _love_ being here right now, I'm not all that hungry anymore. The scent of cooked flesh ruins my appetite. I'll see you later Alvin." I walked away, dragging the others with me, while our parents stayed in the Great Hall with the guards. As soon as we were a safe distance away from the Great Hall, I punched a nearby wall of a house in anger. Nobody talked yet, letting me get my anger out. When I calmed down, I turned to my friends who all looked angry as well.

"Can someone please explain to me how Alvin is alive!?" Destin yelled.

We glared harshly at him for raising his voice. I grabbed his collar to bring him down to my eye level to get a proper look at Destin. "Are you insane? Do you want to draw unwanted attention to us while we're in Berserker territory, barely guarded?" I hissed at him and he got the message pretty clear, mumbling a 'sorry' in response.

Destin rubbed his neck from my harsh pull. "I don't know why you're so worried, it's not like Alvin can pull anything here. And before you guys say anything, every tribe visiting on Berserker territory, _neutral territory_ , can't harm or spill any blood without gaining the Berserkers as an enemy. No Chief or Chieftess wants an armada of ships attacking them. So let's just wait out the party and funeral before Alvin decides to pull anything." We all just stared at Destin in shock after he spoke. He smiled smugly at us, soaking up the reactions to his words.

"You're right."

"I know I am."

I rolled my eyes at him and we started to walk in the direction of the marketplace, hoping the Berserkers didn't get rid of the baker who made the best sticky buns in the archipelago.

* * *

Astrid's POV

I walked through the marketplace of the Berserker territory, checking out the stalls and shops of those who stayed here. I woke up late to get breakfast so I hoped I could get a quick bite from someone who sold some food at a cheap price. The Berserker territory was strangely peaceful, the citizens were welcoming and I barely saw any fights break out, which was weird. Though I knew I wouldn't be bored, since many Chiefs were coming to pay respects to Oswald. As I was walking, I could feel stares and hear whistles of appreciation directed towards me. I grimaced and tightened my hold on my axe in my hand, hoping to get some food and practice in before the party in the late afternoon, there was no way I was going to the crowning ceremony and sitting next to everybody without being glared at. I smelled something sweet, and was about to go in that direction, if it wasn't for a meaty hand stopping me.

"Blondie, you and I both know that you shouldn't be holding that axe. Why don't you put it down and bake me and my friends some sweets?" the owner of the meaty hand said. When I looked at him fully, he had plenty of muscle and a cocky air surrounding him. He has short brown hair and his blue eyes shined with amusement. His three friends were behind him, laughing it up. I'm pretty sure it was Snotlout's long-lost twin; they both irritated the crap out of me.

I glared harshly at this idiot. "And why would I do that?"

"Why wouldn't you? I mean, just _look_ at me." He said. _This idiot was going to be very sorry for opening his mouth._

I just raised an eyebrow in response and let out a low growl in return. "You know what? You're right; I should put my axe down." He looked at me in surprise then satisfaction, he turned to his friends who were hooting and hollering loudly. Before he could turn back to me, I gave him what he asked for, and brought my axe down on him, mainly his groin, really hard. I was pretty sure I heard a crack, but the satisfaction of seeing the guy tear up and hold his groin in pain was great. I walked away from the idiots in search of my food. I found a stall where a baker was selling treats that I've never heard of before. I bought a few and popped some into my mouth, savoring the sweet taste. When I turned around to leave, I bumped into a hard chest, making me fall and drop my food onto the ground. I looked up to glare at a guy and his friends.

"Destin, look what you did!" the dark haired girl scolded the guy. Destin looked apologetic and offered me a hand, which I swatted away. His friends glared at me as I stood up, dusting the dirt off myself.

"He was offering you a hand; you don't have to be an ass about it." One of the girls said. She was beautiful, probably one of Snotlout's dream girls come to life. Her blonde hair was done in an elaborate braid with her bangs swept back. She wore a short robe-like dress that stopped slightly above her knees, green with gold thread stitched on the end of her long sleeves. She didn't wear any leggings or pants underneath but she had a fur hooded cape resting on her shoulders. You could tell immediately that this girl and her friends came from a wealthy tribe. The dark haired girl wore an outfit similar to the blonde, except hers was gray and gold, with her dress slightly shorter with no sleeves, but the outer layer was more gray fur than rich cotton. She had golden armbands on her body, displaying the richness of the group. Destin, the guy who bumped me, wore a tight, but simple long sleeved blue tunic with dark pants and boots, but it was the girl in the front who stared me down with such hatred, that got my attention.

She was about the same height as me, probably an inch shorter at the best. Her blonde hair was wavy, but slightly messy, reaching her waist, where a sword was strapped. She wore a bold red dress with a fur sash across her body. She had plenty of bands of gold on her arms while she wore a blue beaded necklace. Resting upon her head was a jeweled headband with large stones and on her feet, and long boots that went up to her knees. She was obviously the leader of the group; she had an air of authority and respect surrounding her.

She gave me a smirk, before talking to her friends, while staring me down. "Don't bother Valerie, _Asstrid_ here doesn't have manners. She has a bad habit of destroying anything or anyone that gets in her way." I snarled at the blonde, who looked amused at me getting angry. Her friends though, seemed to know me as their eyes lit up in recognition.

" _This_ _annoying blonde is Astrid_? _The Astrid?_ " Dalla stressed. Her eyes went to me and back to the blonde repeatedly.

"You have got to be kidding me, who would've thought we run into a Hooligan the first day?" Valerie just cocked her head and glared at me hard.

"I wonder what _he_ would say if he saw you right now, I know I have a _lot_ of words for you Hooligans." Destin growled.

"What the hell is your problem?" I turned to the blonde leader who still hadn't said anything after making fun of my name. "And who do you think you are talking to me like that? You don't know me. And how do you know my name?"

"They don't _want_ to know you, but unfortunately I already met you in the past." The blonde leader rolled her eyes in a bored manner. "I mean honestly, after hearing all about you was one thing, but experiencing you was another. You are the most annoying fighter I have ever dealt with back on Berk at the Thing. Oh and by the way, I'm Camicazi, the heiress and daughter of Chieftess Bertha of the Bog Burglar Tribe."

I clenched my teeth in anger, now I remember her. Camicazi was the blonde heiress who beat me in competition almost eleven years ago. Camicazi was just gauging my reaction to her words, waiting for me to explode. We both knew I couldn't touch her, if I did, the Hairy Hooligans would have hell to pay from the Bogs. But then again, her friends weren't children of Bertha. As if she could read my mind, Camicazi unsheathed her sword, and held it threateningly in the air. Her friends were starting to reach for their own weapons, and a crowd of Berserkers circled us, waiting eagerly for a fight. Before anything could happen, an obnoxious voice irritated me.

"Astrid!"

 _Kill me now, Thor. It was Snotlout._

Snotlout was walking with the twins and Fishlegs was nowhere to be found. Snotlout was talking to Tuffnut about something, but it must've been something stupid since Ruffnut was rolling her eyes and Tuffnut seemed to be ignoring him every now and then, though Snotlout didn't notice it yet. It was weird not being next to Ruffnut anymore after the Nadder incident. It was easy for me to avoid her, I knew the routes she took to get to places, and I just moved in the opposite direction. We hadn't been in each other's space until a few days ago; we were both stubborn to talk to the other first. Our eyes met and she just sneered at me in disgust, though Camicazi noticed our actions and a frown appeared on her face. Snotlout, being the complete idiot he is, just walked up to Camicazi and the rest of the Bogs, without a care in the world.

"Snotlout Jorgenson, the heir and future Chief of the Hairy Hooligans."

"Camicazi, future Chieftess of the Bog Burglars." She plainly said, she was already bored of Snotlout and hasn't even talked to him for a full five minutes.

"Bog?" Snotlout stepped back for a bit, before shrugging and attempting to give a flirty smile to Camicazi. "Uncle Stoick says you Bogs are trouble, but I'll ignore him since you're pretty hot." The Bogs seemed to tense up at Snotlout's words, but Camicazi quickly relaxed and sneered at him.

"I feel sorry for all you Hooligans already."

"And why is that? I'm going to be Chief."

"Exactly, I give you less than an hour before you burn down Berk." I hid my laugh, but not everyone else did. The Bogs were howling with laughter, the twins were snickering into their palms, and even the Berserker citizens were laughing it up.

Snotlout turned red with either anger or embarrassment, I didn't know which, but it made me happier each second he was knocked down a peg. Snotlout seemed to get an idea, which never ended well for him, and grinned, cockily at Camicazi.

"How about a fight, if I win, I get a kiss from you."

Camicazi just smirked. She put her sword away and got a dagger from her friend Dalla. She whirled the dagger in her hand and stood still. "Don't worry; I don't want anything from you at all."

"This is so my win." Snotlout raised his war hammer and yelled a battle cry, before running directly at Camicazi. Camicazi moved to the right when Snotlout closed in on her, slashing the dagger on one of his hands, making him drop his weapon. He cried out in pain, but before he could do anything, Camicazi grabbed the injured hand, twisting it meticulously slow, causing Snotlout to scream out even louder than before. He arched his back and tears started to well up in his eyes. The last thing he saw was Camicazi's fist meeting his mouth. She punched him so hard, his tooth fell out and he flew into a cart full of pig manure, effectively knocking him out. It was dead silent after a few seconds, before everyone started to cheer for Camicazi. She wiped her hand of Snotlout's blood and spit on the ground, before turning back to me.

"Don't worry Astrid, I haven't forgotten about you, but we'll have to reschedule our fight." She walked away with her friends who were congratulating her on the quick fight with Snotlout. I looked over to the twins who were still laughing it up, even though the crowd parted to go back to their respective duties. I passed by and headed towards the forest to get some practice in, before the party.

* * *

 _The Great Hall – Early Afternoon_

Bertha's POV

The Great Hall was transformed into a meeting room, almost immediately. After Ulrik, Dacey, and I finished breakfast, we left back to our assigned lodging. We didn't notice until we returned that we were right across from Stoick and his party of Hairy Hooligans. After getting cleaned up, we returned to take our places at the table where all the leaders of the tribes will discuss trade agreements and issues with the Berserkers. All the core tribes and some others were already here –except the Hairy Hooligans – with their guards and Council members, as well as their heirs. I looked at the doors to see if Camicazi was going to enter, but no luck. I turned to Meera, one of my head guards, and ordered her to look for Camicazi immediately. She immediately left and as I turned back, I noticed Chief Mogadon staring at me in interest. I narrowed my eyes at him and he turned away, to talk to Thuggory, who looked slightly bored. Before I could even question what just happened, the doors opened again, and it took everything I had to not kill my daughter right then and there.

Camicazi didn't look out of place to anyone else, but i could tell immediately, that she was in a fight. Her hand was red, turning purple with scratches on it. Her dress had dirt on the bottom of it, and even on her face. _And were those blood stains on her sash!?_ Camicazi must have felt my anger, since she started to walk even slower towards her seat next to me. I could hear a snicker, and turned to see Thuggory who looked like he was going to start crying from laughter in the corner over there. I narrowed my eyes in the direction of the Meatheads, and Mogadon slapped his son upside his head to get him to shut up. Camicazi sat down and avoided my sight, since she wasn't saying anything; I turned to Meera who looked amused at the two of us.

"She got into a fight with some teenagers, Chieftess Bertha." She explained.

"With who, do you know?"

"Unfortunately, I don't know." Before I could say anything else, I got my answer. The doors to the Great Hall opened once again, and a group of people came in. My eyes widened when I saw the Hairy Hooligans enter, mainly to Stoick's heir, Snotlout. The boy looked absolutely horrible _. And smelled god awful, what was that stench!?_ His face was bruised heavily, mainly around his jaw and mouth. There was some dried blood and mud on his face, but he just smelled so awful! I finally took notice of Stoick who had a look of outrage and embarrassment on his face as he practically dragged Snotlout to some empty chairs and forced him to sit down. There was another man with him, typical large Viking build, long blonde mustache, with a prosthetic hand and leg. He looked familiar, but I couldn't remember his name.

Stoick finally turned to me with a look of extreme hatred. He was big with plenty of muscle, wearing a large green chainmail tunic. His spiked braces covered half of his arms and he wore his humongous Chieftain Fur cape. His horned helmet rested on his head and his Chieftain belt which was bronze with insignia of a dragon on it stayed at his waist. His red hair stood out, especially the giant beard that was braided in different directions. I put two and two together and just shrugged; knowing Camicazi wouldn't harm anyone without a reason to do so. Stoick's face matched his hair as he turned red with anger. The blonde prosthetic man seemed to enjoy Stoick's anger, boldly laughing and pointing at Snotlout, then back to Camicazi. Ulrik, Dacey, Camicazi, and I looked at each other in shock, not expecting that at all.

The other Chiefs looked at us in interest, staring and wondering what the heck happened, but before they could ask, Dagur finally graced us with his presence, entering the Great Hall through the doors. We all stood up in unison, bowing towards the soon-to-be Chief. He walked and sat down in his chair at the head of the table, before snapping his fingers, permitting us to sit down. He opened his mouth, but started hacking violently. We all leaned back, waiting for his hacking fit to disappear. He stopped and lifted his hand to cover his mouth and nose, with a hint of disgust on his face.

"What in Thor's name is that smell!?" He was turning around to find the source, but Camicazi's giggling got his attention first. Everyone turned to her in curiosity, but her giggles turned into full blown laughter. When she calmed down, she pointed at Snotlout and said one thing.

"Pigshit!"

Immediately, the Hairy Hooligans were met with laughter, looks of disgust, and curses. I didn't hold back this time, and neither did the others, and we all boldly laughed at Snotlout. It may have been slightly cruel, but the boy should know how to conduct himself at a gathering of the most powerful leaders of the archipelago. Thuggory fell out of his seat from laughter, the blonde prosthetic man was crying, Chief Bard - who produced fabrics for the tribes – was cursing in another language while moving away from Snotlout, and Dagur and his guards looked like they want to vomit. Dagur ordered Snotlout to leave and Stoick looked outraged.

"Now, let's get this meeting over with, so I can get my crown." Dagur spoke again. It didn't take long for us to calm down, since every tribe here wanted an advantage for their own. "Who's first?"

Chief Bard stood up and all eyes turned to him. "Due to a shortage of supplies, our fabric has downsized greatly. I will not be able to send my ships to all the tribes before the upcoming winter."

"And how is this supposed to help me? If I freeze, it's going to be your fault!"

"I'm sorry Dagur, but my people have to come first before I even think about trading with others."

"Hmm, how many people do you have on your island?"

"Almost six hundred, two hundred of them are warriors."

"And the Berserkers have more than one thousand people, and that's not even including the people who control the armada and the army. . ." Everyone tensed up at the threat hanging in the air Dagur spoke of. Bard looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but here right now, but you couldn't fault the man for putting the needs of his people first. I sighed out and stood up, gaining the attention of the room.

"You don't have to go that far Dagur, the Bog-Burglars will adopt some of the fabric supply from Chief Bard. We Bogs had a good year, so it wouldn't affect us greatly." I turned to Ulrik and Dacey who were contemplating the numbers in their heads, before nodding together in agreement. "Done." I sat back down and I noticed Bard giving me a look of gratitude. I smiled lightly and turned to Dagur who was staring at me in interest. He just sighed out and motioned the next Chief to make his or her proposal.

Stoick stood up, and I wore a bright smile on my face. This man would probably get the brunt of all of us, after the stunt Snotlout pulled. "Dragons are our greatest enemies to date. The Hairy Hooligans have not had a great year of prosperity; dragons are coming in even greater packs, stealing our food and supplies. We barely made it through winter and the extreme downsize of the food supply is slowly causing hunger throughout Berk. I need supplies ranging from food and building material to replenish Berk." Stoick was met with silence immediately.

 _What a reckless, but bold move._

All eyes turned to Dagur who looked at Stoick hard. He just smiled at sat up in his chair even straighter than before. "Sure, I'll give you some food so you Berkians can live another year." We looked at Dagur in shock, he just threatened Bard earlier, but let Stoick off easy, what is he planning? Bard looked like he was going to explode with anger, but Dagur gave him a look, so he bit his tongue and silenced his protests. "But don't think I won't collect payment. I'm doubling the price for you to get the food; I'll expect my money immediately. Wine, fish, bread, meat, grain, and spices should be all right for you Hooligans." I turned to see Stoick clenching his fists, trying to find a way out of his current predicament.

Camicazi looked at me in interest and I just gave her a smirk. Leaning my head on hers, I whispered, "Stoick needs plenty of food and supplies to survive winter on Berk. The people are getting hungry since every dragon attack leaves them with less food to survive the cold months of winter. Berk is in a harsher climate with the Meatheads, where freezing to death is something nobody wants to do. Stoick openly admitted to having problems, which Dagur took advantage of. The Berserkers have the largest army and armada which they can use to their advantage. Dagur is demanding double the amount of payment for food, but if Stoick rejects that offer, Dagur will see it as a sign of insult and have every right to attack Berk. If Stoick accepts the offer, and doesn't pay, Dagur can still attack since he violated the terms of the treaty. Never ask for something and expect to be rewarded, all offers have a catch and Dagur definitely took it."

"So in simpler terms, Stoick and the Hairy Hooligans are screwed, right?" I nodded to Camicazi's words, giving her an answer. We sat back and watched Stoick accept the deal, and I could see a few heads shaking in pity at him, seeing the deadly threat of the deal. Mogadon stood up and had our attention.

"Speaking of debts, Stoick, the Meatheads had leant you ships for hunts of the nest, but none have ever come back. Also, we've given building materials and supplies which go to waste with the amount of dragons that attack Berk. My Council has advised me to cut off trade with Berk until your debt is paid. How you plan to pay is up to you, but it must be paid before the end of winter." Mogadon sat back down and the tension was high in the room.

Stoick stood up and started to yell. "How do you expect me to pay a debt, while sustaining the life of the Hairy Hooligans and being under the attack of dragons at the same time?! It is not my fault that-"

"It's not your fault, you say?" I hissed out. "Pay close attention Camicazi, this fool here thinks none of this is his fault. _You_ make the decision when it comes to life on Berk, only you Stoick. I'm surprised none of the warriors or any of your Council members _rejected_ another hunt! All of us know that hunts end in disaster, no Viking has ever found the nest, and _you_ definitely won't be the first, Stoick Haddock. What is going _on_ with you Hooligans, _how in Freya's name did you convince most of the warriors to go on a suicide mission!?"_ The Great Hall was silent after that; even Dagur didn't open his mouth to say any rude or sexist comment. The blonde prosthetic man sitting next to Stoick shook his head in amusement.

He looked directly at me, gaining my attention. "He offered his son. I believe his words were 'those who stay will look after Hiccup'" Sounds of disgust were around the room, especially coming from Mogadon and Bard. I looked to Camicazi, who had a sneer on her face; she stood up and directed her fury to Stoick.

" _How dare you use Hiccup as a bargaining tool to get recruits, what kind of fool does such a thing!? I mean honestly, did you even think of the people who died searching for your glory!?_ " she screamed, her face red with anger. Stoick looked taken aback, but was ready to say something else, but I interrupted him before he had the chance.

"Before you put your foot in your mouth again Stoick, think really hard of what you are about to say. The Bog Burglars are keeping you afloat, but barely. We're giving you some food and materials based off our separate treaty, so be very careful of what you want to say, it will determine your legacy and Berk's survival." My threat was perfectly clear, and everyone was waiting with bated breaths, of what Stoick will do. Stoick reined in his anger and sat back down, giving me a dark glare. Dagur started to laugh and all eyes turned to him, waiting for what he was going to do.

He gave his usual disturbing smile, and I tried not to cringe. "Oh, I just love gatherings; we should do this every year!"

 _Late Afternoon – The Center – Crowning ceremony_

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Camicazi's POV

I was pulling at my tight blue dress, wishing it wasn't cut this short. My legs were bare since some kid vomited on me earlier when walking towards the bench, forcing me to throw them away. I pulled my fur hooded cape, hoping it would cover me more, but I got even more stares from guys, since my dress left little to the imagination. I huffed out in anger, pulling my tight braid in boredom, wishing this damn ceremony started already. I turned around to see Destin, Dalla, and Valerie with same bored expression on their faces as well. Even our guards looked like they wanted to fall asleep. We were all getting impatient and just wished Dagur would hurry up and get crowned, so we can eat and go to sleep. The Hairy Hooligans were pushing my buttons every second since the moment we stepped onto this damned island and my patience is running thin. I tapped my boot clad feet, wishing I was any other person right now.

Suddenly, the sounds of synchronized stomping signaled the long awaited arrival of Dagur the Deranged. Immediately, everyone stood up and we saw the pompous Dagur, walking with a cover of guards towards the makeshift stage where a gold Chieftain crown and a large sword was waiting to be claimed by him. Since Oswald died and nobody else could personally crown him who was of his blood, the person of the next highest authority did so, which was a short male elder who had shaking knees and had Captain Vorg hold the necessary items ofsuccession. The guards split in half and stood on either side of the stage, facing us with their swords held down. Dagur wore nothing but a dark green tunic and black pants with matching boots. His helmet was removed, showing his long red braid. Dagur stood before the elder, smiling wickedly.

Surprisingly, the elder had a strong voice. "Here comes Dagur, a man of only eighteen years ready to accept a large responsibility of becoming Chief of the Berserker tribe. Oswald was his father and leaves behind a legacy of over thirty years of peace and prosperity. Dragons are our enemies today and we know Dagur will continue to defeat the beasts and bring great fruits to the Berserker tribe. Kneel, Dagur." Dagur did so and the elder looked towards the crowd of villagers and guests. "Is there anyone who will question Dagur's future as Chief?" Nobody spoke. The elder nodded, and motioned Vorg to place the necessary items on Dagur. A new Chieftain cape was made, placed onto his shoulders. The sword was placed into his hands. A bowl of charcoal was placed in front of the elder, he made the necessary Chief symbol on Dagur's forehead, before placing the golden crown atop his head. "Rise as Chief Dagur of the Berserker Tribe!"

Dagur rose and a cold wind suddenly blew through the crowd, who was cheering and screaming praises of "long live the Chief." I clapped along, but I didn't show much praise since that cold wind brought fear and not excitement of Dagur being Chief.

* * *

 _Night - The Great Hall_

Fishlegs' POV

I remembered how I was excited to come to the Berserker tribe, ready to read new books and get some explanations on the many topics I had about everything I wanted answers on. Though, my spirit was slightly dampened when I found out Stoick only invited me to keep a close eye on me, making sure I didn't open my mouth. I tried not to let Stoick get to me, but my energy and happiness was slowly running out. When I woke up this morning, I had lost my appetite and wandered around with Gobber, as he listened to the Berserk's forge master talk about welding and weapon making. I abandoned Gobber to see a crowd surrounding some people. I saw Snotlout talking down to a girl and her friends, and I shook my head at his idiocy. _He'll never learn._ I felt a hand clasp my shoulder, and turned to see Gobber carrying a bag full of metal.

"What's the big commotion, is it Dagur?" he asked me, his eyes full of curiosity.

I shook my head at his question. "No, it's even worse, it's Snotlout." Gobber was looking at Snotlout more carefully, but it was the three girls and one guy that caught his attention. It looked like he was trying to make a connection, his eyes widening so slowly when he got his answer.

"How about a fight, if I win, I get a kiss from you." We heard Snotlout say. Gobber started to laugh when he figured out whatever he was thinking earlier.

"The boy's in for a rough time!" Gobber was wiping his eyes and I still started at him, waiting for an answer. He noticed my curiosity and finally replied. "Those teenagers are from the Bog-Burglar tribe, and that feisty blonde is the heiress, Camicazi!"

"Don't the Bog-Burglars brew the best fighters throughout the archipelago!? There's no way Snotlout can defeat her!"

"Which is why, it makes it even _more_ entertaining!" Immediately, Snotlout ran towards her, but was met with a slash from a dagger and a hard punch, flying him backwards into a cart of pig manure, as well as losing a tooth. The crowd cheered and Gobber's roar of laughter echoed my own. Camicazi walked away with her friends, but before doing so she said some words to Astrid, who had a displeased look on her face.

"She didn't even use her sword, just a fist and a dagger!"

"The Bog-Burglars are a deadly tribe of women, _believe me_ , you do not want them as your enemy." After Snotlout's show of embarrassment, I spent my free time walking around the Berserk tribe while Gobber left for a meeting with the rest of the Chiefs' and their respective Councilors. I got tired and started to head back to our lodge, and when I opened the door I was met with plenty of noise. I saw Ruffnut and Tuffnut laughing, and I could hear banging and cursing from outside.

" _There_ you are!" Tuffnut shouted, he moved away from Ruffnut and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "You missed Snot's tantrum, he was like a little girl!"

"What happened this time?" I asked, slightly interested in all of Snotlout's failures.

"He still stinks from getting his butt kicked by that Bog, and then got kicked out of the meeting by Dagur himself! He can't take a bath inside, so he's outside right now trying to scrub himself down." Tuffnut led me to the back door, where I saw Snotlout cursing and trying hard not to get soap in his mouth and eyes. He must've felt us staring, and turned to curse even louder than before. He rinsed himself off and threw on a clean tunic and pants. Ruffnut didn't seem bothered by his changing, but rather disappointed.

Snotlout stomped inside and went towards the kitchen. We followed to see him tearing through the cabinents, grabbing fruit and oats, shoving it down his throat. We waited for him to finish his binging, before speaking.

"I can't believe he threw me out, who does he think he is!?" he yelled, I winced at his high tone.

"The new Chief, this is his lands Snotlout." I plainly told him. Snotlout gave me a dark glare, but I didn't really care for his words.

"Whatever. And that Bog! Who does she think she is calling me out in the middle of the meeting!?"

"Well you did make her angry first, Snotlout." Snotlout slammed his fists on the nearby table so hard, we all jumped in surprise. His eyes seemed to darken with hatred, and it sent a chill down my spine. I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one, Ruffnut grabbed my hand tightly and Tuffnut put a hand on his sister's shoulder.

I shook my head at the memory earlier today and observed the party that was in full swing of Dagur being Chief. There was so much food and deserts around, I felt like I was going to be full just staring at everything. Gobber was having a drinking contest with some guards of various Chiefs', while Stoick was talking to a Chief, about some trade agreements. The twins and i were sitting at a table, eating plenty of food that would probably make us all burst, from indulgence. Tuffnut and Ruffnut were joking around and I listened to them while observing the party. People were dancing, drinking, playing games, and enjoying the night. It was quite weird at times, seeing a peaceful Dagur. He was sitting on the Chieftain chair, surrounded by guards and offerings. He had new swords, furs, books, and armor piled around him, like he was sitting on a treasure chest. The most impressive offering was the sword the Bog-Burglars gave him. It was a large sword, with a Skrill engraved into it; it was as if it was going to come to life. He boasted the quality and praised the forge master back at the Bog-Burglar tribe. It seemed the party was going well without a hitch.

* * *

Camicazi's POV

I was dancing now with Valerie, spinning across the room and laughing at the fun we were running. We may not like Dagur, but we had to admit, the guy knew how to throw a party. The ale kept on pouring and the music never stopped. As Valerie spun me again, I crashed into someone who put their arms around me, keeping me from dropping onto the ground. I turned to see Thuggory, who smiled down at me in greeting.

"And here I thought you could dance, did you gain two left feet in the past year?" He teased at me. Thuggory had gotten taller, the last time I saw him. He was thin, but you could notice the muscle he had on his body. His straight black hair fell just above his shoulders, and he pinned back his lengthy bangs from getting into his face. He wore a burgundy shirt with some tan pants and boots. Plenty of black leather belts were at his waist. He wore all of this under a dark red hooded cape. His naturally tanned skin stood out from the usual pale Vikings and his dark brown eyes shined with amusement.

"I can dance, it's not my fault Val here spun me too hard." I pointed at my friend whose face were turning as red as her dress. Thuggory smirked at us and rested his elbow on her head.

"Sorry about that Val, I couldn't see you from all the way down there. How goes Bog life?" Valerie attempted to kick him, and he jumped away, moving his arm from her head as he dodged. He laughed at her, but got punched in the stomach instead. He wheezed out as he attempted to get his breathing under control. "I forgot about your hits, man do they hurt."

"At least you can take them, not bad for a boy."

"Speaking of hits, I heard about your little fight with Jorgenson, I can't believe I missed it! Dad had me run some errands for him after the meeting. What I would've given to see him thrown on his ass!" We all laughed, and not so long after, Destin and Dalla joined us afterwards, eagerly catching up with our old friend. All of us talked for hours, catching up on what we missed from Thuggory over the years. Obviously leaving out the part about dragons, we told him a few white lies to cover our tracks, and he seemed to believe us. The party was slowly dying down, with villagers returning home and the visiting Chieftains with their party members. The five of us started to walk outside, but before we could say goodbye, an annoying voice yelled my name.

"CAMICAZI!" I turned to see Snotlout walking towards me and I sighed out.

"If you want another tooth to be knocked out of your mouth, I suggest you leave. I don't have the energy to fight since I'm in a good mood, and I don't need it to be ruined by the likes of you." I started to walk away with the others, but then Snotlout pulled a sword on me. A few of Thuggory and I's guards ran towards us, when they noticed Snotlout's threat. We called them off though, knowing that we could handle this fool by ourselves. "Are you insane? You do know you're risking the future of the Hairy Hooligans by threatening me, right?"

That seemed to put some sense into his tiny brain, since he lowered his sword. I heard some voices and saw a pair of twins and a large blonde boy run up to Snotlout, restraining him. Astrid was running up to the group, looking at the scene in horror. I didn't see her at the party or ceremony, but judging from her muddy appearance, she must've been training the whole time.

"What in Gods name are you doing Snotlout!?" she screamed. Her voice was so loud, it grabbed the attention of the Chiefs still inside. And that meant my mother. Immediately, mom ran down the steps with the rest of the adults. Following them were Chief Mogadon, Stoick, and Dagur. They all looked shocked, while Dagur was beyond mad. He stomped towards us with his new sword clenched tightly in his hands. He had about a dozen guards following him, with their weapons out, ready to attack at his order. The remaining Berserk citizens looked angry as well, they were all throwing looks of disgust at Snotlout, who started to regret his actions.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're not that smart of a person?" Dagur spoke to Snotout, circling him like a vulture would its prey. He turned to Stoick and made his decision about Snotout. "He's going into a cell, and you are not going to say anything about it." Four of Dagur's guards headed to drag Snotlout towards the direction of the prisons, and Stoick looked beyond mad.

"Astrid, Fishlegs, Tuffnut, and Ruffnut!" he shouted. "Return to the lodging now, and don't even think about refusing. Gobber, make sure they get there." _So that's all their names._ Gobber forced the teens to walk ahead of them, making sure they were going back in the direction of their assigned housing. Mom, Ulrik, Dacey, and our guards had frowns on their faces, not amused at all of the tensions we were creating. Stoick suddenly grabbed my mother's arm, and whispered something in her ear, she smirked in response, and whispered something to him, that caused him to freeze in fright. Mom ignored all of our looks, and just led us back home.

* * *

Stoick's POV

"HAVE YOU GONE MAD, SNOTLOUT!?" I roared with anger, frightening the boy and making the walls shake slightly with my tone of voice. "What in Thor's name were you thinking when you attacked Camicazi? The Hairy Hooligans are not in favor with any of the tribes, and you attack an heiress? What logic went through your head when doing so?! The only reason why I haven't revoked your claim to the Chieftain line is because you and your father are the only ones left in the family!" Gobber and the rest of the teenagers stood off to the side, watching with bated breaths at my rant.

Snotlout finally looked at me, after keeping his head down for some time. "You said the Bogs are our enemies, and I confronted them. I don't see what the big deal is."

My eye twitched and my hands were shaking, ready to throttle my idiotic nephew for his severe stupidity. I let out a sigh and gave him one of my fiercest glares that shut him up. "You may have just condemned us to starvation! Go to bed, I don't want to see you or anybody stepping out of this house at all tonight." The teenagers ran upstairs to their rooms, and slammed the doors in response. I dropped into a nearby chair, resting my head in my hands, trying to get my breathing under control. I could feel Gobber's stare and I turned to meet his cool blue eyes.

"What?" I growled, not wanting to deal with anyone right now.

"If only you could see the real problem." He went to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of strong ale. He came back and sat down in the chair across from me, drinking heavily. I waited for him to be done before he talked to me again. "If you could just swallow your pride and apologize to Hiccup, we probably wouldn't be in this mess. Now, all of us could be wiped out because you couldn't love Hiccup!"

I clenched my teeth hard, barely suppressing my anger. "He betrayed his tribe and couldn't live up to our ideals!"

"You mean your ideals and expectations. You set the bar way too high for him!"

"That is not my fault he –"

"Gobber jumped from his chair and threw his mug against the wall. "It is! If only you showed love to him, we may not be in this predicament. Maybe, even we could be riding dra-"

"If you say what I think you're about to say, you better find a new tribe to live at. I already warned you and Fishlegs _that_ is not to be spoken of." I got up and left for my bedroom, not bothering to remove my clothes or armor. I climbed in my bed and went straight to sleep, wishing to return back to Berk, as soon as possible.

* * *

 _Midnight_

Bertha's POV

I ordered Meera and the rest of the guards to check on the dragons, knowing they would be restless with the lack of attention and freedom of flight. They left immediately, knowing my anger wasn't something they wanted to risk. I looked at each of the teens squirming in their chairs at my hard stare.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Those freaking Hooligans are asking for a death wish." Camicazi sneered. She threw her hands to her hair, taking out the complex braid it was in and shaking her head, loosening her hair. "Well, they'll be dead in a few short months from starvation or hypothermia. Who knows what'll come first."

"Camicazi!" Ulrik, Dacey, and I said in unison. She silenced herself, and looked me in the eye. We held each other's stare, before she turned away in defeat.

"You were not to bring too much attention to yourselves, especially from the Hairy Hooligans! Was that too much to ask?!" I shouted.

"We did try to avoid attention Bertha! That Jorgenson boy is someone who doesn't understand the meaning of 'no.'" Dalla stated. Dacey stared at her daughter, giving her a warning look on how she addressed Bertha.

"First Astrid and her attitude and Jorgenson with his cockiness, I swear if another Hooligan comes up to us, I might actually break one of their bones." Valerie glared hard at the door, as If it could be sent across to the teenagers of Berk. Ulrik sighed at his daughter's words', knowing her temper was something that should never be trifled with.

"Plus, it's natural for Bogs to make a scene Bertha. If we didn't do anything, people would be suspicious." Destin reasoned. I just sat down in a nearby chair, knowing that he was right. Before I could respond to his words, a knock on door gained all of our attention. Ulrik left to open the door and he came back with a hooded figure that had its face covered. When the person revealed himself, my eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"What are you doing here this late at night?" I asked.

"We need to talk about the dragons and the future of our tribes." the hooded figure said.

* * *

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. The introduction of new characters and the political system of the archipelago brought extreme tension and drama to our lovely Bog-Burglars. You get to see the clashes between Bogs and Hooligans, and every time they meet, the hostility is just going to keep on building until something or someone breaks. My favorite part of this part of Unpleasant Reunions and Funerals, had to be the negotiation scene. I loved writing the feud between Stoick and Bertha since these two leaders haven't seen each other in quite some time, and when they're finally put in the same room, the gloves are off. Bertha and Stoick throw away any form of "friendship," and are just going at each other. They don't care of trying to salvage their reputations, since they have a hold over one another. Stoick, with the knowledge of Hiccup's disappearance, and Bertha, with the treaty that keeps Berk fed. When i was re-watching episodes of Dreamworks Dragons, i noticed that Dagur is full pf pride, he's practically like a peacock, attention and glory is something that he wants and craves for. Dagur is a dangerous person to cross since he has one of the largest armies and armadas, which he can use to his advantage in anything at all. You'll see plenty of Dagur's deranged side next section, so look forward to that. As 2015 is winding down to a close, so is Dark Wings. This chapter has one more part to it, which will take place at the funeral for Oswald where all bets are off. There are about eight chapters left which will not be split up at all, so things are going to be picking up with crazy amounts of drama and pain. I want to thank everyone for reading Dark Wings when i first published it. I didn't think it would get a big reaction or following, so i am grateful to every person who has read, favorited, followed, and made Dark Wings a success. **THANK YOU EVERYONE AND I'LL SEE YOU IN 2016!**


	16. Unpleasant Reunions and Funerals, Part 3

_A/N: HERE'S THE FIRST UPDATE OF 2016! I HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOY THIS NEW CHAPTER!_

* * *

 _Berserker Island – Temporary Bog residence - Midnight_

Bertha's POV

I immediately pulled out my sword, not wanting to take a chance with this man in my home. He didn't flinch, since he was used to me sticking weapons in his face for so many years. I gave him a hard glare and I got a smile in response.

"What are you doing here, Mogadon?" I demanded, wanting to know why he was here in the late night.

"I think you and I both know the answer to that," he chuckled. His eyes scanned the room, before landing back on me. "Dragons are the key to survival now, not destruction."

"And what makes you think we know anything about it?"

"Johann brought a great story when he came to visit us last year when trading." He started. "You'd be surprised what he said."

"Do entertain me." I gave him a bored look, but we both knew that he was getting closer to the truth.

"When Johann came to drop supplies, he had an interesting story: dragons being trained on Bog Island. At first I laughed at him, almost couldn't breathe, really. But then, I started to think really hard. You sent me a letter about reducing the amount of goods you needed, saying that you had less need for ships and wouldn't need any materials until next spring. And then after that, I got a message from Stoick saying he needed double the materials for construction. When the Hairy Hooligans came and got the supplies, they tell me about all the trouble Berk had with dragons and then Hiccup being replaced by Snotlout as heir. They tell me that he was exploring new lands and got lost during a winter storm! I knew right then and there that was lie."

"It's probably the truth, you don't know that."

"Why don't we agree not to lie to one another, Bertha?" he took off his hooded cape and rested it on his shoulder. "He wouldn't be lost at sea; he wouldn't even dare venture off Berk during the cold winter storms. If Hiccup did run away, he would be far away with people he knew, which left you guys. He wouldn't come to Meathead Islands, its way to close too Berk. The only other choice would be you since Camicazi and Hiccup are friends. And with the Night Fury missing in raids and last spotted on Berk, I'm guessing he rode it out of Berk to stay with the Bog Burglars. "

You could hear a pin drop in the room, from the dead silence. I could feel everyone's stares directed towards me, waiting for me to make a decision. I sighed in defeat, knowing Mogadon will be persistent. "What do you want?"

"I don't _want_ anything Bertha, it's what I _need_."

"And what is that?"

"Help with the dragons on Meathead Island. They are out of control. The forest almost burned down a few weeks ago due to Nightmares and there are Timberjacks terrorizing my workers, forcing them to not be able to chop wood. I hate dragons, but what I hate more is not being able to save my people from our own destruction. So please, I need your help."

"Does Thuggory know you're here? You and I both know that boy is still angry over Edna and Devina's deaths, he won't agree with it." Mogadon's eyes widened at my words and I heard gasps around the room. Ulrik and Dacey immediately came to my side, ready to protest, but I gave them a sad smile in response, knowing that our time with Hiccup and Toothless was coming to a close. They seemed to understand and backed off, but the teenagers were another thing.

"NO WAY!" Destin exploded; it was rare for him to lose his temper. "You can't just—"

"—send him away! It's not fair!" Dalla finished her brother's rant, her gray eyes burning with slowly pooling tears.

"We're about to plan the dragon races and Hiccup said he'll go against us! And the village is planning on doing a one year anniversary party of peace!" Valerie yelled, her fists were clenched in pain as she barely suppressed her anger. We all turned to Camicazi, who didn't say a thing in response to my words. She had a stoic face, not showing a hint of emotion.

"We can't force Hiccup to stay here with us. The agreement for him to train dragons was learning our ways and gaining citizenship, and we let him leave whenever he wants."

Valerie looked at me as if I were crazy. "Do you not care at all, Cami!?"

"I do care, but I have to think of the future of tribe fist."

"She's right." Bertha said, turning back to Mogadon. "But it is not my decision though, it's Hiccup's. Hiccup was the one who introduced dragons to us, so the decision rests with him. Though I have some questions for you Mogadon, why did you call out Stoick during the meeting?"

Mogadon eyes slightly darkened. "Stoick may be my friend, but every single time he borrowed from me, it left us Meatheads with lesser power by the day. And when I heard you and Camicazi's outbursts on Hiccup during the meeting, I knew I couldn't stand it anymore."

"So you're throwing him away?"

"Not exactly, Bertha. When I leave here, I will act as if nothing has happened. We did not cross paths or talk of dragons at all, I will be completely neutral to this growing conflict of the tribes. But in private, I will be your ally and confidante. And when the time comes, I will give you every resource needed from ships to clothing."

"And we shall do the same, but you should hurry and tell Thuggory of what happened here tonight. I don't want him to find out some other way, _especially_ from Stoick."

"Is there anyone else that knows of Hiccup or the dragons on Bog territory?"

"Everyone but Dagur, Bard, and the other three Chiefs who didn't show for the celebrations for Oswald, I just hope nobody else knows."

"That's good, but I would like Camicazi to join me when I do tell Thuggory tomorrow."

"What!?" everyone yelled in surprise. Mogadon turned to Camicazi with a pleading look in his dark eyes.

"Why do you need me there?" she asked.

"Thuggory will need his friend when I tell him about the changes coming back at home. I know he will lose it, so please, come with me tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll be there." Camicazi went upstairs to her room after that and I turned to Mogadon to say goodbye. He put back on his hooded cape, before leaving out the back door so any guards from outside wouldn't see him.

"Let's go to bed you guys, we all need our sleep after all that's happened." I addressed everyone. Immediately, they went to their rooms to sleep, but I stayed downstairs. I went into the kitchen, grabbing a mug and pouring myself some strong ale, drinking it slowly and savoring the taste, remembering what Stoick said to me earlier:

 _You will lose the game you are playing, after your dragons are revealed._

"Game on, Stoick." I said to myself, as I took another sip of ale.

* * *

 _In the air above the secluded beach_

Hiccup's POV

We didn't wake up on time and leave when we wanted to, since our talk from last night ran late. When we first woke up, I panicked slightly, before Palva calmed me down, reassuring that we still had time to find my hideout and make it back to Berserker territory in time. We packed up everything and fed our dragons before leaving the secluded beach. My former hideout was about an hour, almost two at the most. We didn't speak much, since the urgency of this mission was getting to us. Toothless let out a roar and the others turned to us, trying to figure out what caused his distress.

Below, were a group of ships that had weird sails on them. None of them were recognizable to me, and by judging from the looks on Palva and Zyon's faces, they were just as surprised as I was. We were going to fly higher to avoid, getting spotted, but we were too late.

"Dragons, above!" a voice from the ship yelled below us. Palva and Bone Crusher were hit with a grappling whip, it forced Palva out of the saddle and Bone Crusher was plummeting towards the ship. Zyon and I were lucky to dodge the others, so I urged Toothless to fly fast while Zyon took care of the people on the ship.

"HICCUP!" she screamed, her eyes wide with fear and despair. Toothless and I were getting closer to her, but it seemed the Gods wanted to test Toothless' speed. Palva was a few feet away from the ocean, and I grabbed her hand, but her hand slipped from my hold. Her eyes were wide with fear once again as she plummeted into the sea. I betrayed all logic and jumped in after her, leaving Toothless to fly by himself for a few minutes. I had less than a minute to grab Palva and swim back to the surface and get back onto Toothless' saddle, since dragons couldn't swim.

Thank the gods it was the afternoon, if it was night, I wouldn't be able to see Palva at all. She was slowly losing consciousness, and I swam faster. I grabbed her hand and quickly swam back to the surface, roughly forcing the both of us on Toothless' saddle, with ten seconds to spare. We both sucked in a much needed breath and Toothless turned his head to me, cooing in concern.

"Let's . . . head back . . . to . . . the . . . cave." I barely got out.

"No." Palva said, she was shivering from her wet clothes and started to sneeze for a bit. When she calmed down, she noticed Bone Crusher wasn't here with us and her eyes lit up in alarm.

"Zyon's taking care of those people."

"We need to go back."

"But—"

"Hiccup." She gave me a stern look and I sighed in defeat, knowing I would act the same way if Toothless was in Bone Crusher's position. I directed Toothless to turn around and we headed back in Zyon's direction. When we arrived, the scene below shocked the both of us, but I was horrified. There were four ships in total with men who had strange traps and weapons, now on fire. Their screams were horrid to hear and I heard another plasma blast from Dark Star who destroyed any person who was still attempting to survive from their slaughter. I saw Zyon's expression, and it sent chills down my spine. His face showed anger, but satisfied anger; as if he didn't care for the lives he just took. Zyon noticed our staring and flew towards us with the recently freed Bone Crusher. Bone Crusher perked up and when he got to us, clamped his jaw on Palva's clothes, carefully removing her from Toothless' back and onto his neck. Palva smirked and patted his head for his possessiveness.

Zyon had blood on his sword which he wiped off on the end of his shirt, but didn't seem bothered by it. I looked at him in shock, wondering how he could kill all those people; he seemed to have read my mind and just shrugged in response.

"How could you kill all of them like that, and use Dark Star as a tool for your revenge?" I looked at him and he just had a bored look on his face.

"So? They attacked and put all of us in danger. Palva almost drowned and Bone Crusher would've been captured, they deserved it."

"You didn't have to put them down like dogs though." Palva added.

Zyon just rolled his eyes, not caring for our criticism. "If you don't agree with my methods, that's all right. Let's just hurry to find any evidence so we can head to Berserker territory, we're wasting time discussing this." We knew we wouldn't get any answers out of him, so I led Toothless in the direction of our former hideout with the others following behind, the only thing being heard were there screams of the men either drowning or burning alive from Zyon and Dark Star's destruction.

* * *

 _Former hideout_

"This is where you stayed before getting captured?" Palva asked me, as she walked around the empty cave.

"Yup, for at least two weeks with Toothless until leaving with Camicazi." I replied, it was just Zyon, Palva, and I in the cave since Toothless and the other dragons wouldn't be able to fit in here with the rest of us. The cave was bare how Camicazi and I left it, with nothing there for anyone to see.

"This place isn't hard to get to, but it isn't where people will come to all the time."

"You're right; I'm just trying to remember if I forgot anything."

"Well you need to remember harder, Hiccup." She stressed. "A piece of fabric, a scroll, a book, a jour-"

My head snapped up as her words triggered a memory deep in my mind. I walked over to the cracks in the wall of the cave, trying to find the few rocks that I moved around to hide that journal. I found them and started to pull them out, almost throwing them, to find the journal. My heart raced as I looked at the journal that was still here in the cracks of the cave. I pulled it out and let out a sigh of relief, looking at the worn journal as I flipped through the pages, making sure nothing was missing.

"What's in that journal?" Zyon asked, he looked at me curiously but I ignored his stare.

"Too many bad memories and not enough good ones." I didn't give him a direct answer, since I was still disgusted on how he executed all of those people on the ships without a care. I stood up and looked around the cave one last time before turning to Palva, since she knew the direction towards Berserker territory. "This is it, can we go?"

"Wait. Before we get on our dragons, the air needs to be cleared now." She turned to Zyon with a heated glare. " _You_ can't just _kill_ people without a care! Bone Crusher was the one that got captured, not Dark Star. All you had to do was burn the sails, knock out his captors and free Bone Crusher, not kill everybody. What in Freya's name were you thinking!?"

"I was thinking on how not to get captured, Palva." Zyon glared back, he was slowly losing his temper again, and I could tell. His eyes twitched, his hands shook, and he snarled like wild animal being let out of its cage for the first time.

"ENOUGH!" I yelled. Both Zyon and Palva's mouth dropped in shock since they never seen me angry at all, despite being good friends for at least a year. I could hear Toothless' roar from outside, but I ignored it since I wasn't in any danger. "We got my journal, so let's head to Berserker territory and say goodbye to Oswald before it's too late." They practically moved out of my way as I rushed out of the cave and headed down to the small beach where the dragons were waiting. Toothless bounded up to me, his head tilted to the side with his green eyes wide with concern. I gave him a reassuring smile, but he knew that I was faking. He huffed and used his tail to smack me in response. "Okay, I deserved that." I got onto the saddle and tucked my journal into my black fur vest, making sure it was secure.

Zyon and Palva finally came out of the cave, still looking just as angry as before. They got onto their dragons and Zyon was glaring so hard at Palva, a hole would've burned through her skull, but Palva being Palva, ignored him and led all of us to Berserker territory as the sky was slowly darkening.

* * *

 _Berserker territory – Meathead temporary lodging_

Thuggory's POV

"Over my dead body." I said to my dad, who was getting angrier each passing second.

When I woke up this morning, I checked on dad who was fast asleep in his own room. I figured he was tired from all the crazy events that happened last night, so I grabbed some weapons and left to train early in the morning. When I came back, I grabbed some food and wolfed it down before taking a bath to clear off all the sweat and dirt on me. When I came out of the bath and went downstairs, I listened to Dad's insane idea on integrating dragons to live with us back at home on Meathead Island. A knock on the door interrupted my dad's response to my words and when he opened it, I was even more confused.

Camicazi came inside, and had a grim look on her face. Dad looked relieved at her being here right now and that made me immediately suspicious. My eyes darted between the both of them, trying to figure out what was the connection, until it clicked.

"Kill me now Thor, are you serious?" my voice was so low and filled with anger, both Camicazi and Dad jumped in response. Camicazi was about to open her mouth, but I cut her off with a glare. "The Bogs are training dragons and you want _me_ . . ., you want the entire Meathead tribe . . . to start _riding dragons?_ _Why?!"_

"Lower your voice Thuggory." Dad warned.

"No." I turned to Camicazi and she froze on the spot. _"How dare you! You looked me in the eye and lied straight to my face the moment we got back together!"_

She blushed hard at my words. "What was I supposed to do? 'Oh hey Thuggory, we Bogs are training dragons back at home and my mom wants you and your dad to join us.' _Is that what I was supposed to say to you when I first talked to you again!?_ If you've forgotten, we're on the most dangerous island in the whole archipelago where the new Chief is obsessed with dragons and would wipe anyone out who doesn't agree with him! _Did you forget that!?"_

"Fine! I can understand that, but how could you look me in the eye and lie to me!? We've been best friends since we were born!" I turned to my Dad who was watching us intently. "How could you even agree to this? Or have you forgotten all about Mom and Devina already?" I was suddenly shoved against the wall, my eyes widening as Dad's arms were crushing my body and my strength.

 _"How dare you say such a thing?"_ His voice was cold and hard like steel. "How dare you assume that I would forget your _mother_ and the love I hold for her? Your mother will forever be in my heart and your _sister_ as well. As a Chief, you will have to make decisions you will hate and might have to even lose your soul, but you don't have a choice. Do you think Bard wants to feel as if he is useless to the tribes by not being able to provide fabric for all of us? Do you think Bertha wants to make secret deals that hold deadly risks for herself and her tribe? Do you want to be like Stoick who is dooming the Hairy Hooligans to ruin or do you want to live and embrace a new change, Thuggory?"

I kept my head down and bit my tongue in submission, knowing he was right. If I didn't agree, the Meatheads would soon suffer the same fate as the Hooligans, and I wouldn't want anything to happen to my people. Dad let go of me when he noticed I was done fighting against the both of them. I walked towards Camicazi and held out a hand for her to shake.

"The Meatheads will gladly assist the Bog-Burglars help with dragons." Her blue eyes met my dark brown ones as we shook on this binding agreement. I was still angry with the secrets and lies, but I would have to swallow my pride if it meant the Meatheads have a chance of survival. We all looked up when we heard footsteps coming from upstairs. I saw the four Councilors that Dad brought who were staring at us in confusion, wondering why we were yelling earlier.

"Thuggory and Mogadon, are you guys okay?" Gunther asked. He's one of the best warriors back at home. "And why is the heiress of the Bog-Burglar tribe here?"

"Let's just say there's going to be some big changes back at home." Dad spoke. Camicazi left immediately after that and Dad started to speak to Gunther and the rest of the Council members. To say they were angry was an understatement. They were beyond pissed. I stood back and watched as their faces went from shock, anger, disbelief, and finally acceptance. I left our house and walked outside to catch up with Camicazi. I spotted her near a stall where women were selling fabrics and clothes. She was choosing between a blue and green dress. I walked up beside her and bumped her lightly. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she didn't say anything. The women could sense the awkwardness between us and moved to the back of the stall for us to speak.

"Sorry." I apologized. She looked at me in shock and smirked slightly.

"It's alright, anybody would have reacted the same way you did. Especially what you and your dad went through with the dragons in the past, it's been about eight years."

"My dad is the only family I have left, Camicazi."

"And that's where you're wrong Thug, blood doesn't make a family, love does." Camicazi turned to me and punched my shoulder hard. I pretended to wince when her fist met my shoulder, but she grimaced at the pain she got instead.

"Not so strong are you, little Bog?"

"Shut it Meathead."

I laughed at her and leaned against one of the crates holding fabric. I picked up a black hooded cape near the corner and took the blue dress in Camicazi's hands and walked towards one of the women in the back. I paid for the clothes and thanked the women before grabbing Camicazi's hands and pulling her away. We walked towards another stall where they were selling sweets. I bought some sweet rolls and grabbed Camicazi's hand once again. I pulled her away and led her to a cliff that overlooked the Kill Ring. We sat down and I put the bundle of clothes to the side while I started to bite into the sweet roll. Camicazi watched me as she picked at her own roll.

I swallowed my first roll before speaking. "You're staring, Cam."

"Why'd you bring me here?" She was still staring at me in curiosity. "What do you want?"

"I can't bring you here and show you this awesome view without wanting something."

"No Thuggory, you can't."

"Hiccup, huh?" Camicazi blushed immediately. "When Dad first told me about the dragons, he told me of how highly you spoke of Hiccup. How you practically praised his achievements and success back on Bog territory. It's easy to tell that the both of you are together." Camicazi didn't say anything at all; she just watched my reaction very sharply. I stuffed the rest of my bread in my mouth and swallowed it, but I started to choke. Camicazi hit me on my back to help and I swallowed some water from my skin that rested on my hip.

"We did have some fun together, Thuggory." I smirked at her and thought back to all of the insane adventures she convinced me to do with her. From pranking visiting Chiefs, stowing away on Johann's boat and causing chaos for our parents, blowing up a warship, stealing my Dad's favorite sword, and so much more. Despite all that, one memory stood out to me the most.

* * *

 _Flashback_

 _2 Years Ago – Meathead Islands – Night_

 _"Hurry up, Thuggory!" Camicazi laughed. Her laugh echoed throughout the beach as I was running to catch up with her. Tonight was her last night on Meathead Islands since the Bog-Burglars had to leave as early as possible from Dad's birthday party to get back home. Camicazi and I ditched the party two hours in and stole a bottle of wine. I crashed into her and we ended up falling onto the sand, with me on top of her. We were breathing hard and looking into each other eyes, before we started to laugh together. I got up and pulled her up from the ground._

 _"We haven't even started to drink yet and we're already stumbling into each other." I said, as I wrapped an arm around her shoulder and she wrapped an arm around my waist in response._

 _"I can hold my drink, the question is, can you?" she taunted. I laughed at her and let go to open the bottle of wine. I took a swig out of it, before handing it to her._

 _"Let's find out Cami." She took a swig and we went on and on, until the bottle was empty. We were swaying slightly before one another, and giggling like crazy, though we still were in perfect control of our actions. Camicazi jumped onto a rock and spun around on one foot, before losing balance. She was slowly falling forward before I caught her fall, making her still on top of the rock. She held onto my shoulders for balance and I tightened my hold on her waist. We were breathing hard and staring into each other's eyes, before I took the plunge. "I'm going to kiss you now, Camicazi."_

 _"Let's see how well you do, Meathead." We closed our eyes at once and our lips met one another eagerly. One of her hands moved to the back of my head and the other caressed my face while one of my hands rested on the small of her back and the other tightened on her waist. My tongue poked against her mouth, demanding entrance, which she gave me immediately. Our tongues clashed as our kiss got deeper and hotter, until we had to separate for some much needed air. "Not bad, for a boy."_

 _I snorted at that before helping her down from the rock. We didn't say anything as we walked back towards the Great Hall. We could hear the music and cheering from the villagers and visiting Chiefs and Chieftess' as we got closer. Our hands were clasped together tightly with a silent promise of coming back together again._

"It was never going to be me, was it?" I asked her, as I focused back on Camicazi. She stood awkwardly and I rose up to watch her reactions. I smirked to see her fidget and try to place her eyes anywhere else, but me. It was funny to see the crazy and confident Camicazi slip from her usual daredevil attitude. Even though Hiccup may have gotten Camicazi, there were some parts he still haven't seen of her. She still didn't say anything to me, but her silence was as clear as day. "Camicazi, don't worry, I'm not mad. But if Hiccup does anything stupid to hurt you, I _will_ knock him out." I picked up my new fur hooded cape before I gave her a quick, but friendly peck on her head. I started to head back down to the main part of the village.

"Hey!" she shouted. I turned around to see Camicazi grinning wickedly at me. She held her new dress in one hand and my sword in the other. She was waving my sword around playfully as she gouged my reaction. "Aren't you forgetting something?" My eyes widened as I looked at my now empty scabbard, where my sword once stayed. She walked towards me and held out my sword, which I took before shaking my head in disbelief.

"You sneaky little Bog." She laughed at me before bumping me playfully as we walked back to the village side by side, with a new understanding between us.

* * *

 _Berserker territory –Oswald's funeral – The main beach_

Fishlegs' POV

"What is wrong with you?" Astrid asked. I turned to see her looking at me in annoyance, with a mixture of disgust.

"I just have a bad feeling about this funeral." I was trying hard not to yell at her.

"It's a funeral; it's not some damn birthday party with lanterns and bright lights you fool."

" _Of course I know it's a funeral, Astrid._ " I hissed, and her eyes widened in response. "Can't you feel it in the air? The extreme distrust between every person here on Berserker territory? Something bad is going to happen and it's going to happen soon. The hat is going to drop, and I really don't want to be in the middle of it."

Astrid stared at me, and I knew despite all the arguing that's going on between our broken group, that she agreed with me. She tore her eyes away from me and scanned the beach to look at the other tribes and citizens of the Berserk tribe. Their bodies were filled with tension, even though their faces showed mourning and acceptance.

"It's not like you can change their outlook on each other, one person isn't strong enough to do such a thing."

"And that's where you're wrong Astrid."

"You may be smart Fishlegs, but it's not like you have the answer to every single problem."

"You're right, _I_ don't know, but I know who has the answer to the main problems affecting Berk."

"And who is that?"

"I don't think you need me to tell you that Astrid. Just think back on when all the problems started when _that person_ left." Her eyes widened at my words, and she made the connection very quickly. She opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out. I turned to see Stoick, Gobber, Snotlout, and the twins coming our way, with their own bow and arrow in hand. Stoick looked at us, trying to find out why Astrid was avoiding my sight, but he didn't pry. He moved to where all the other Chiefs and Chieftess' were standing, leaving Gobber in charge of all of us.

"This funeral marks the end of our stay on Berserker Island. We'll be leaving in the morning after the farewell breakfast, so be on your best behavior and try not to make a fool of yourself!" We all turned to Snotlout and he scoffed.

"Oh please, since when have I ever made a fool of myself?" he said.

We glared hard at him in response and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Thor, help me." Gobber muttered under his breath. He adjusted his dark hooded cape, which was required to be worn by everyone on Berserker territory for the funeral. The beach was filled to the brim with people, and overflowing to the nearby cliffs. The faint beat of steady footsteps signaled the start of the funeral for Oswald the Agreeable, former Chief of the Berserker tribe.

* * *

 _Behind a house near the main beach of Berserker Island_

Hiccup's POV

"We made it just in time, you guys." I said, as I put on my black hooded cape. We needed to change as fast as possible to match the other residents and visitors of the Berserker tribe. Zyon finally put on his green tunic and hooded cape, as our back-up plan. If we were spotted, Zyon would wear the same outfit as me to distract the guards from capturing us, not knowing who was really who.

Zyon, Palva, and I were walking and eventually flowed in with rest of the crowd headed to the beach. I hoped that Toothless and the other dragons would be alright, since we had to separate and leave them. Dark Star was in the sky somewhere, Bone Crusher was hiding out in the forest, and Toothless was hidden in a nearby cave. My heart was beating fast as we got closer; I grabbed a bow and arrow that some warriors were offering and kept my head down. We were on the beach now, but stayed where the lower class citizens were at, since nobody would bother to search for us there. I noticed plenty of Chiefs, but couldn't see Bertha or Stoick.

We heard the steady beat of footsteps and saw about twenty guards lift the funeral pyre of the now deceased Oswald, who was covered with a sheet with his sword resting on top of his covered body. I finally saw Dagur, who wore a face of mock hurt, but his eyes burned a hidden passion. I felt a chill that ran down my spine when he glanced over to where we were, silently praying to all the Gods that he didn't spot us. I let out a sigh of relief when he continued to walk. Oswald's funeral pyre was placed on the water, slowly moving as the current pushed it farther and farther away. Dagur gave the signal for the arrows to be lit and we raised our bows and pulled back our arrows in anticipation. The pyre was far enough to be shot at now. Dagur released his arrow and it hit the mark perfectly, making the funeral pyre light with fire.

"Goodbye father." He said, though I knew his words were mocking, than sympathy.

"May our love travel with you to Valhalla, Oswald!" everyone else said in unison. In perfect harmony, I released my arrow along with everyone else and watched it sail in the air, until it landed onto the pyre, making it go up in flames. Dagur turned to everyone and we waited for his funeral speech to begin.

"Tonight officially marks the end of Oswald the Agreeable," he started, his eyes shifting to the plenty of people on the beach. "My father may have been known for his peace and prosperity, but I will be known for capturing the Skrill and regaining the honor and glory for us Berserkers! There are rumors going around about some dragon tamer that rides a Night Fury, but we all know that's a lie! Dragons have and always will be our enemy until the end of time! And just to make sure these rumors are false…" At least a hundred guards came up with weapons in their hands, and I looked at Zyon and Palva who had their hands hovering on their weapons. ". . . search every ship from all the tribes and make sure there are no dragons! Any tribe caught with dragons will be sent to prison and then executed! GO!"

Immediately, people started to run, scream, anything to get away from Dagur's wrath. I got separated from Zyon and Palva when the chaos started. I was forced with the flow of the crowd, being thrown in different directions. Dagur was still screaming for guards to search the ships, before he started to run for the docks and the scent of fire started to fill my nostrils. The guards had torches and maces in their hands, and my heart caught in my throat. I couldn't stomach this destruction, and went towards the rocks that I told Toothless to hide behind. I ran and ran, shoving people out of my way, in my desperate attempt to get to my best friend. I finally made it, but my blood ran cold when I noticed that he was gone.

"Where are you Toothless?!"

* * *

Bertha's POV

"Run." I demanded, and everyone instantly complied. I pushed Camicazi in front of me, making sure she was in my sight always. Valerie, Destin, and Dalla were by her side, holding on tight to one another, making sure they didn't lose each other in the chaos. A few houses were on fire, screams and curses filled the air, and Dagur's mad laughter made me fear for all of our lives. Our guards were by our side, with their weapons drawn, protecting us, but even they couldn't fight off hundreds of guards at once.

"Meera and the guards will escort the children as far as possible from here. Ulrik, Dacey, and i will try and make it to the ship, and free the dragons." I ordered, and the children's eyes widened in fear, especially Camicazi.

"NO WAY!" she screamed, though it was drowned out by another house bursting into flames. We all covered our heads as the debris of the house hit a few nearby citizens.

"YOU ARE THE HEIRESS AND I AM THE CHIEFTESS, I OUTRANK YOU! YOU WILL LISTEN TO ME AND GO WITH THE GUARDS, ALL OF YOU, NOW!" Meera practically dragged Camicazi against her will and the other guards pushed the children away from us. I looked at the others and they nodded in silent agreement, all of our children needed to be as safe as possible. We were running to our ship, shoving people out of the way, and even killing a few guards.

"How would Dagur even know about our dragons being hidden aboard the ship?" Ulrik plunged his sword into a nearby guard, quickly pulling it out and wiping the blood away.

"Someone had to tell him about the dragons, the question is, who?" Dacey commented, as she pulled us away from a nearby burning house. I could hear the screams of a family inside, but they would be forever haunting my mind, as I ignored my instinct to help. We were getting closer to the docks, but I stopped when I found the solution to all of this.

"Alvin." I growled his name out like it was a bad taste on my tongue, forcing Dacey and Ulrik to stop and turn at me. "He's the only one who could convince that idiotic boy to search the ships. Alvin's barely shown up for the meetings or the crowning ceremony! That bastard is the reason we all are going to get captured if we don't get our dragons out of here!"

"Maybe the Gods will favor us for once, and get us out of this mess!" Ulrik yelled, but quickly covered his mouth as he started to choke on the scent of burnt flesh.

"I'm not so sure about that." Ulrik and Dacey looked at me in confusion, but then their faces showed dread. The sounds of roars filled the night sky, and fire rained down from the horde of dragons that were attacking and setting Berserk Island aflame. We turned to see Dagur ordering the guards to force the citizens back in their homes and the Great Hall for protection. They instantly complied and another hundred guards were tasked with the capture and killing of the dragons in the raid. But he didn't call off his search for the dragons aboard our ships. I could see some Vorg leading some guards onto Bard's ship, tearing it apart and hearing Bard curse in anger.

"This is madness." Dacey spat, her disgust of Dagur's treatment to us rang clear.

"No, this is the new regime of Dagur the Deranged." I felt someone's hand touch my shoulder, and I turned to see Mogadon bleeding and Thuggory looking every bit of disgusted as Dacey. Gunther and the rest of his Councillors looked just as mad as he was. I tore a piece of my dress and wrapped his bleeding arm tightly, and he thanked me quickly.

"This is insane and I cannot believe that Dagur would do this at his own father's funeral." He said, looking at the damage Dagur caused all around us, while we hid from the dragons that were attacking at the same time.

"That boy has no moral compass, he would wipe us all out just for the fun of it!" We all grabbed some nearby shields to protect us from the dragon fire. I looked up at the wrong moment to see an attacking Nadder being sliced in half and it took all my willpower not to faint. Dragons were attacking, guards were raiding the ships, and the sound of Dagur's voice echoed throughout the air. I knew right then and there, we all had the same thoughts as we looked at the scene in front of us.

 _How are we going to survive tonight?_

* * *

Gobber's POV

"Hurry up, we need to make it to the forest!" I yelled, looking back at the teenagers who were falling behind from running.

"Why don't we just stay and fight?!" Snotlout stupidly asked, causing me to stop running and grabbing his shirt, lifting him to my eye level.

"We'll all be dead if we tried that! Do you think you can take on hundreds of burly guards while trying to evade hundreds of dragons!?"

"I've killed a Nightmare, I can kill another one!"

"The Nightmare you killed was kept under lock and key, caged back in the Kill Ring with at least a dozen guards that were outside to make sure it didn't get out. You were protected muttonhead, not here!" The teenagers winced at my voice, but I could care less. I needed to get them as far away from this mess that Dagur created. We were getting close to a forest and the minute we entered, I slumped against a tree in relief. I looked up to see Astrid and the twins glaring at one another, Snotlout sneering up into the sky, and Fishlegs slowly backing away. He grabbed the girls and pushed Tuffnut back and I looked at him in confusion, wondering why he was doing this. I followed his sight to see a large Nightmare that was looking at us in curiosity. I grabbed Snotlout before he could even think of attacking, but he got away.

"DON'T DO IT SNOTLOUT!" Astrid screeched, she tightened her grip on her axe, and hit Fishlegs with it, causing him to instantly let her go. Astrid broke free and chased after him, waving her axe in the air. The Nightmare instantly tensed up and lit himself on fire, ready to defend itself.

"NO!" A female voiced shouted. The Nightmare reacted to her voice and flew to cover her, standing in front of the hooded girl that had a sword pulled out, ready to attack Snotlout and Astrid. I was shocked to see this girl protecting the Nightmare and vice versa. She charged at Snotlout, immediately swinging and disarming him from his own war hammer. She spun around and kicked him in the stomach, making him fly towards us, hitting a tree. Astrid on the other hand, was smarter. She dodged the girl's attacks and the stream of fire the Nightmare shot out. The girl seemed to shout something out to the Nightmare, and he instantly put out his flames. My mouth dropped at that and Fishlegs and I looked at one another, before turning back to the fight.

"You're decent, I'll give you that." The girl taunted, laughing at Astrid's fighting skill.

Astrid snapped, she raised her axe and let out a battle cry. She ran to the girl, but it looked like the girl _wanted her_ to do exactly that. The girl swiped at Astrid's hands, and Astrid figured it out too late, falling into her trap. The girl instantly fisted a hand and punched Astrid, causing her to go off balance and fall down. All of our mouths dropped, Astrid going down in a fight never happened, until tonight. I looked to see the girl turn from us and tell the Nightmare something. The Nightmare blew a stream of fire, keeping us from getting to the both of them and then started to light a few trees on fire, causing them to fall and create a wall of smoke, blocking our view. We covered our eyes and when the smoke disappeared, so did the Nightmare and the girl.

"That was awesome!" Tuffnut yelled, looking at the rest of us in excitement, his blue eyes shining in excitement. I shook my head at him and looked to see Astrid staring to stand up from being beaten in the fight.

"NO! NO! SON OF A HALF-TROLL, RAT-EATING, MUNGE BUCKET...!" she was cursing, swinging her axe around and stomping her feet like a child. It was amusing to see her lose her cool, but I shouted at her to get her attention. She seemed to understand her actions and instantly shut her mouth, though I was pretty sure I could hear her grinding her teeth in frustration.

The tension was high and I honestly wanted to be anywhere but here right now. Unfortunately, everything got worse as the sound of a familiar whistle caused all of us to look up at the night sky in shock and fear.

 _Night Fury!_

* * *

Palva's POV

"Damn it!" I shouted, the blonde girl nicked my arm, causing it to bleed. Bone Crusher roared in frustration, probably mad that he didn't get to protect me as much as he wanted to. I was riding him now, trying to steer him away from the wild dragons attacking and trying to find Dark Star at the same time. "This night could not get any worse." The sound of a sonic whistle filled the air, before I saw a plasma blast shoot at a trap, setting it aflame. "Looks like we found Zyon and Dark Star, Bone Crusher, let's go!" He flew faster and blew a stream of fire to get their attention, it worked and Zyon looked at us in relief.

"Where the heck were you!?" he shouted, causing me to glare at him. I was not in the mood for anything and just wanted to be as far away from this crappy island.

"We got separated, you dolt!" I looked down to see guards still tearing apart another ship in search for dragons aboard, and realized that they were getting closer to our tribe's ship. "Zyon! We can't let them find the dragons!"

"I know that!" He was searching for something, but I couldn't figure out what. "Where's Hiccup?"

My eyes widened and my mouth dropped. "Oh crap."

* * *

Hiccup's POV

I was practically screaming Toothless' name, not caring if I got caught. I didn't know where he was and hoped that he wasn't in danger.

"HICCUP!"

I looked up to see Zyon and Palva with the dragons coming down towards me on the far side of the beach. I thought they would stop, but Bone Crusher snatched me up in his claws, before Palva offered me a hand and pulled me up onto the saddle.

"You couldn't give me a chance to get on when I was on the ground!?" I glared hard at her, but she just shot me a wicked smile.

"We don't have time for arguments! Dagur is going to expose the dragons on the ship and get everyone killed, we need to help!" Zyon's eyes were wild and filled with hatred for Dagur. I silently prayed that he wouldn't snap and order Dark Star to kill him, since that would ensure our deaths if he did such a thing.

"I need to find Toothless, he's gone! There's no way I'll fight without him!" I was still craning my neck to look for my best friend, and I finally caught sight of him. "There!" I pointed down to see Toothless being cornered by at least five Berserk guards who were trying to capture him. Palva directed Bone Crusher to fly downwards, but I jumped off at a safe distance, tumbling onto the sand before righting myself quickly. I ran and pulled out my sword when I got close enough, ready to take at least three of the guards down. They laughed at me, writing me off as useless, and I tried hard not to think back to the memories of Berk. Making sure my hood was secure so my face wouldn't be shown, I swiped at the buckles of their armor, instantly snapping them off and exposing their clothed bodies. I raised my sword before cutting all three of them, but not mortally, making them scream and clench their wounds. The other two were shocked at my actions, surprised that I could take down their friends. I was going to take the others down but Palva's arrows did the job perfectly. I turned to see her and Zyon running up to me with a look of concern mixed with anger. I hopped onto the saddle and directed Toothless upwards into the air. Zyon and Palva hopped onto their own dragons and flew back to the docks.

"How are we going to get back without being spotted?" I looked at Palva, and her eyes were shifting all over the place, trying to form a plan. Her eyes lit up and she turned to us with a smirk.

"I have an idea, but try not to get caught you two." Zyon and I looked at each other in confusion, wondering what Palva had thought up.

* * *

Camicazi's POV

The raid died down fast since the number of guards and warriors here on Berserk Island was large and took down plenty of dragons. Dagur pulled his sword from a dead Nadder and I looked to my mother whose eyes were wide with disgust. Valerie, Destin, Dalla, the guards, and I hid behind some houses and returned when everything was done. But Dagur refused to call off the search for the dragons aboard the ship. I looked to see homes destroyed, dragon carcasses littered on the ground, and weapons covered in blood everywhere. I realized that this used to be my life until I changed my view on dragons and hoped it didn't end here if we were caught. I shot a glare to Alvin who was smiling gleefully in the background with his party, waiting for the axe to drop on us. As much as I was irritated and slightly fearing for my life, my thought went to Hiccup. We all heard the sonic whistle of a Night Fury in the air, and hoped it wasn't Hiccup or Zyon.

Mom eyes were shifting towards the ships in the far distance, especially the Meatheads. They were our only ally and I had no idea what my mother was thinking when she told them to leave. I was going to lose it soon if we couldn't leave. The Hairy Hooligans and the Outcasts were the only ones left after Bard and Mogadon were allowed to leave and I was praying that something would happen to catch Dagur's attention.

Dagur was cursing about not getting to kill a Night Fury and screaming at Vorg to search our ship. My hand instantly found my mom's and I squeezed it in fear. She squeezed back.

"Hurry up and search the Bogs ship!" Dagur was pacing back and forth and Vorg finally made it to the deck of our ship, but before he could go further, the sonic whistle of a Night Fury filled the air. All of our heads snapped up to the sky and we saw a plasma blast hit a torch in the center of the village, making it fall and spin out of control before falling into the water. I couldn't tell of it was Dark Star or Toothless, but I knew that this distraction should get Dagur's attention.

"Call off the search and get the armada ready, we're going Night Fury hunting!" Dagur was screaming, and guards started to run back and forth, making repairs while the warriors were heading to board the armada and hunt down either Toothless or Dark Star. Another plasma blast hit another torch, slowly plunging the Berserk Island into darkness. Another plasma blast hit a torch, but it didn't come from the first Night Fury. "There are two of them! Perfect!" Dagur was given a crossbow and he held it before shooting an arrow blindly in the darkness.

"Let's go!" Mom dragged me towards the ship and the others followed. The sails were unfolded and Ulrik cut the rope holding us to the island, before steering us out of here and directing us towards home. The ship was slowly picking up speed and I turned to see Dagur still shooting blindly in the air while Stoick and Alvin were glaring at our retreating ship. The torches were still being shot by both Dark Star and Toothless, and eventually the island went dark. I could hear the screams of frustration from Dagur and I almost cried out of relief, but held it in. We finally released the dragons, but they were not happy. They flew in an agitated manner before flying smoothly in the air, not acknowledging us just yet.

Before any of us could say anything, Palva had come down with Bone Crusher, who landed on the ship perfectly. She slid off and rested against Bone Crusher's side, exhausted. We ran to her and I gave her a skin of water that she drank eagerly.

She finished the water and looked at mom sheepishly before pulling out a worn journal from her vest underneath her hooded cape. She gave it to me and I let out a sigh of relief.

"This is Hiccup's journal where he wrote details about his past on Berk and how he trained Toothless." I told mom, as she nodded in understanding. "Burn it."

"You're telling me that I almost drowned to death and almost got captured for something that we could've burned when we first found it!?" Palva shouted, her eyes were wild with anger before she snatched the journal back and ordered Bone Crusher to burn it. We all watched it light up before turning to ash. "Where's Hiccup and Zyon?"

We all looked at her in confusion, as if we knew the answer. She stood up immediately and searched the night sky, trying to pick out the two Night Furies and their riders.

"They were supposed to join me when they were done destroying the torches!" Palva ran her hands through her short hair in frustration, but Dalla rushed to her side and calmed her down. It was rare for Palva to lose control of herself. Mom opened her mouth, but no words came out since the shrill scream of pain from a Night Fury sent chills down our backs. We looked up to see Dark Star and Zyon approaching us in anger, Dark Star's eyes were narrowed into slits while Zyon winced in pain. He had an arrow lodged into his left arm.

He fell down onto the deck and we held him down as he writhed in pain. Ulrik and Dacey worked on him and quickly removed the arrow before stitching him up and wrapping some gauze around the wound. He looked better but was sweating from the pain and looked pale.

"Dagur's arrow got me and Dark Star got us out of there before I could get hurt again. Hiccup and Toothless were going to follow me, but an arrow pierced Toothless and they fell out of the sky, towards the forest." Zyon explained, his dark eyes boring into my own, gouging my reaction.

"We can't help them." Mom said. "Our dragons are still trying to get feeling back into their bodies after being kept in the ship for so long. Our ship won't be able to turn around and make it to Hiccup and Toothless without getting caught. As much as I don't want to say this: Hiccup and Toothless are on their own."

* * *

Gobber's POV

 _BOOM!_

"Everyone but Fishlegs, stay right there! Don't even think about moving!" I glared at the rest of them, even though I hoped one of the teenagers disappeared so they could be punished when we returned to Berk. Fishlegs followed me through the dark forest and we looked what could cause such a loud noise. As we followed the path of broken trees, I could feel Fishlegs' eyes on me, so I stopped walking and turned to him, waiting for him to speak.

"Yes, Fishlegs?"

He jumped slightly, before answering me. "The girl from before, she had to be from the Bog-Burglar tribe, right? She had a similar fighting style to Camicazi, they were almost the same. And judging from how both her and the dragon disappeared, she was riding it, wasn't she? Is _he_ at –"

"Yes." I didn't bother in trying to lie to him, since he was the only one who supported me – as well as his parent's – about Hiccup's treatment on Berk. We were getting closer, there were plenty of broken trees and the ground was practically ruined with pieces of the earth torn so bad, you could see the red clay. Fishlegs suddenly grabbed my arm, stopping me from moving any further. I turned to him, waiting for an explanation.

"I've seen this before." His eyes looked at the scene, trying to recall where this was so similar. "Back on Berk, this is _the exact scene_ where Hiccup found his dragon." My eyes widened at his words and we walked closer, but were even more cautious, in order to not draw attention to ourselves. And there we saw it, a Night Fury. It wasn't as big as I thought, but it was still large enough to instill fear into me. I watched with a bated breath as the Night Fury moaned in pain, and looked around for something. Its eyes landed on a hooded figure that was struggling to get up.

 _It couldn't be. . ._

The hooded figure was muttering and pulled out an arrow that was in the Night Fury's side, causing it to roar out in pain.

"I'm so sorry, Toothless."

 _Hiccup!_

Our mouths dropped in shock and we knew that voice. My heart was beating like crazy and I hoped that I didn't burst into tears, right then and there. There was so much I wanted to say to him, but couldn't bring myself to speak. I clenched my fists in frustration, knowing that I wouldn't be able to help him, without facing the mistakes of not being able to protect him more, when he was on Berk. I looked at Fishlegs who was muttering quietly to himself, but I quickly covered his mouth to make sure Hiccup didn't hear a thing. Fishlegs took a step back in shock, but that caused him to step on a twig, making it snap loudly in the quiet forest. Our eyes widened as a dagger came straight at us, and we ducked out of the way just in time, as it lodged in the tree beside us.

 _Hiccup had gotten a lot stronger._

"Who's there?" he asked, but neither of us said a thing or even breathed. We were shocked at the response Hiccup gave us, but I didn't want to hide anymore. I betrayed all reasoning and stepped out slowly to Hiccup and motioned for Fishlegs to do the same. Even though the hood covered half of his face, I knew it was him without a doubt. He was definitely strong and handy with the daggers in his hand. There was a shield strapped to his back and a sword resting in a scabbard at his waist.

"It's Gobber and Fishlegs, Hiccup. It hasn't been too long so you couldn't have forgotten about us, right?" My voice was going to break, after seeing him so alive and healthy, although he showed no hint of recognition towards either one of us. He still had his daggers pointing at the both of us, as if he never heard me speak. He was definitely a Bog-Burglar, not just from the amount of weapons on him, but how he didn't budge or show a response to me at all; ready to put Fishlegs and me down if we made a wrong move.

 _Bertha trained him well._

Fishlegs made the mistake of stepping forward, and was met with a dagger next to his foot. It was a warning, to not get any closer. The Night Fury moaned in pain and got up, but slowly. Hiccup turned around, looking at the wound and sighing in despair at the situation he was stuck in. He got onto the saddle on the Night Fury's back before turning to us one last time. He pulled his hood back, revealing himself to the both of us. I finally let it out and cried, cried from not protecting the boy who was like a son to me from what he faced back on Berk for at least fifteen years. Fishlegs was patting my back in comfort, but it didn't dwell the pain I felt in my chest.

"It's not your fault, Gobber." Hiccup said, his green eyes softened towards me, but looked warily at Fishlegs. "Goodbye, Gobber. I didn't say it the last time I left." He put his hood back on and urged his dragon to fly upwards into the night sky.

 _At least we said goodbye this time._

* * *

Hiccup's POV

I started to scream, not caring if the whole archipelago could hear me. I was cracking and I wasn't sure if I could pick up the pieces of myself once again, without help. Seeing Gobber made me want to run away immediately, but when I saw his face, I finally revealed myself to him. It was insane that I did such a thing, but I knew I couldn't leave without saying goodbye to him again. When he broke down and cried, my heart shattered, as much as I wanted to say more, Toothless was my number one concern. He was flying fast, but not fast enough since the arrow brought damage to his side. Dagur was insane, but had a good shot. If the island wasn't in darkness, I was pretty sure Toothless and I would be bleeding to death in the forest.

Toothless was starting to waver but we were getting closer to the ship. I could hear voices as we started to fall, and I prayed to all the Gods, that we would make it out of Berserker territory alive. Toothless passed out from his wounds and we crash landed onto the ship, and my eyes instantly closed when my skull met the wood.

 _Morning – Aboard the Meatheads ship_

I woke up to see unfamiliar faces on the ship, until I saw Bertha and Camicazi talking to two people. One was a man talking to Bertha and the other was a guy about my age, rubbing Camicazi's head in comfort. Surprisingly, that hurt more than my bandaged wounds. I grunted when I sat up and caught everyone's attention. Camicazi was by my side in an instant and helped me stand on my feet slowly. My head was aching and i gave her questioning look, wondering who these people were.

"What's going on?" I spoke, my voice raspy from not having anything to drink. Camicazi handed me a water skin and I chugged it eagerly. I looked towards the man and he gave me a small, but comforting smile.

"Hello Hiccup, I'm Chief Mogadon of the Meathead tribe." His voice was clear and sharp, getting straight to the point and not beating around the bush. "My son Thuggory and I have heard much about you from Camicazi about your work with dragons back at the Bog-Burglar tribe. I'm going to keep it short and simple: I need help with the dragons back at my home, and I would like it if you could assist us Meatheads with your skills in dragon taming."

"I don't _tame_ dragons; I help you live side-by-side with them." My answer had a slight bite to it, but he needed to know the difference. "This isn't a problem that can be swept under a rug and be revisited later, the dragons are for _life_. You'll be turning your entire tribe upside down to create new laws and rules for the safety of the dragons. There's going to be plenty of protest and people aren't going to take well to the change that could come. You'll probably be hated and even attacked for what may come to the Meathead tribe, _do you understand_? When you accept a dragon, you're gaining a life partner and comrade. You can't have any ill feelings to the dragons, no matter what they've done in the past. Excuse me if that sounded rude, but it's the truth."

There was silence afterwards and everyone turned to Mogadon. He watched me curiously and I stared him down, not relenting in my argument. He looked away first, and I held back a victorious smirk. I looked around the ship to find Toothless, but he wasn't there. Seeing my panic, Camicazi tightened her hold on me, forcing me to focus on her.

"Toothless is back on our ship with the others. Dacey taped him up just fine after getting the rest of the pieces of the arrow that was in him." Camicazi explained, she pointed at the nearby ship where I could see the rest of the gang, Ulrik, Dacey, and the dragons eating breakfast. Toothless was chowing down on some fish, eagerly eating it up. I laughed boldly, but winced at the pain. Toothless perked up and roared in greeting at me and I waved towards him eagerly. Mogadon signaled one of the men on the ship to steer closer and the two ships met before pulling anchors to stop moving. When Ulrik put a board for us to walk on, I immediately raced onto our ship and was met with greetings. I got nods, hugs, and even a few punches before making my way to Toothless. He met me halfway before covering me with slobber from licks. He looked at my wounds and cooed sadly, not being able to protect me fully. I didn't say anything, but just rubbed his head in comfort, knowing that I felt the same way in not being able to protect him.

Mogadon was staring at Toothless and I in shock, getting a small taste of the true meaning of my words. He nodded at me in agreement, but my eyes shifted to Thuggory, who was still staying on his ship surrounded by guards. He stared at Toothless, shifting his eyes back at me in mild curiosity, but I could tell there was an anger hidden behind them. His eyes shifted towards Camicazi and she smirked at him in triumph. I frowned at that and turned to Valerie who gave me a knowing look. I rolled my eyes at her before turning back to Mogadon who was waiting for me to speak.

"I wouldn't mind teaching the Meatheads about dragons and helping you live side-by-side with them." I finally answered his request, and he breathed out a sigh of relief, shaking my hand in agreement as we sealed the deal. "We can leave today, if you want."

"Don't you want to heal up first? You did fall out of the sky and almost crack your skull." Mogadon's eyes widened as he noticed my urge to leave.

"I fall out of the sky daily, it's nothing." Laughter came from the gang, as they experienced my insane adrenaline stunts with Toothless in the past year. I turned to Toothless who was frowning at me, not approving of me not wanting to rest first and get better. I smirked and he pouted in response. I turned to my Bog family and was met with hugs and tears. Bertha almost squeezed me to death, and I could tell she was trying to hold it together, but a few tears slipped out.

"Try not to get killed, though you and I both know you and Toothless attract more trouble than one should in a day." I laughed at her concern and tried hard not to cry. Bertha filled the role of my dead mother, and I enjoyed being her son, even if we weren't related by blood.

"Goodbye Mom." She gaped at my parting words and moved to the side as the gang embraced me one last time. We came together as we did before when we separated back at home, but now the hug was even tighter, since we didn't know how long my departure would be this time. We didn't say anything, just hugging silently as our dragons said goodbye in their warbled speech, trying to savor this moment before I had to break away once again. Toothless crooned before nudging his head against my back, telling me in his own way that it was time to go. I last looked at Camicazi who gave me a soft smile, nodding her head in acceptance. I looked at my Bog family one last time before turning and following Mogadon back to his ship, ready to start a new journey at the Meathead tribe.

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A/N: I'm so happy to post this chapter tonight, it took some time but i did it! I wondered how to start this update and debated for some time on what should happen in this section. I read reviews and looked back on past PM's on the story and the characters within to see how to give you guys an awesome update with plenty of action, political drama, romance, and relationships. You get to see a boatload of different characters and their relationships with other tribes especially the i looked back on this completed update, my favorite part was the Hiccup, Fishlegs, and Gobber reunion. I turned Gobber into a person who was filled with regret and longing for forgiveness, because he feels that he failed Hiccup, by not being able to protect him from harm growing up. I've seen messages and reviews on how Hiccup should forgive Gobber and vice versa, so that scene was written especially for the readers who have been dying for the two characters to reunite in some manner. When i read the reviews on the hooded figure, most people thought it was Gobber or Hiccup, but it was really Mogadon. I needed it to be Mogadon since the Meathead tribe is going to cause a lot of stress on Hiccup, especially when it comes to the integration of dragons to their tribe. The next two chapters are called _The Meatheads_ and _Fathers and Sons,_ which will focus mainly on Thuggory and Hiccup's relationships with their fathers. It's going to be full of family drama and flashbacks, so look forward to that. Please **review** and **vote** on the poll on my profile page, since it will close tomorrow afternoon. **See you guys in the next update!**


	17. The Meatheads

A/N: AT LAST A NEW CHAPTER FOR YOU GUYS. I'M TRULY SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING IN MONTHS AND LEAVING YOU ALL IN THE DARK ABOUT THE FUTURE OF DARK WINGS. THIS CHAPTER IS FOR ALL THE READERS, SO ENJOY. BY THE WAY, I'VE REACHED 200 REVIEWERS, THANKS YOU GUYS, ESPECIALLY **AkaDeca** , who was the 200th reviewer. Also, Dark Wings will be 1 year old when 6/20 hits, so look out for a new update and some one-shots on that date. Please review and vote on the poll on my profile. For the one-shots, leave requests on want you want to see.

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 _Aboard the Meatheads ship - Night_

Hiccup's POV

"You almost cracked your skull, but your scalp bled like crazy, it came when your head hit the wood of the ship when you and Toothless fell. It was pretty nasty, and I'm surprised at seeing the rest of your body covered in light scars. You shouldn't have so many injuries, even for a Viking teenager." Grenna spoke, her grey eyes showed concern as she changed my head bandages again. Her black hair was braided down her back while her pale skin was highlighted by the moon shining in the night sky. Grenna was kind; she showed no ill will towards me or Toothless. She was more interested in Toothless at some points, and quickly, she had him wrapped around her finger.

"I've taken plenty of hits, and not all of them are from Bog training." I winced when Grenna finished tying the gauze to my head, but she looked at me in concern, brushing over an old scar on my neck.

"They look old, _years_ old." I gave her a smile in response, trying to quell her curiosity, but she didn't buy it at all.

"Life wasn't always the best for me, it never has." I vaguely revealed to Grenna, not trying to give her the details of my treatment on Berk.

"Although, now?" Grenna asked, her eyes roaming over me, trying to get an answer.

"It's gotten better and I'm hoping that I don't get any more surprises." I just told her.

"You train dragons and ride a _Night Fury_ , I'm pretty sure your life will _always_ be full of surprises."

I laughed at that, she was right and we both knew it. For someone who was the same age as me, she was pretty insightful. I turned to Toothless who was watching us curiously, and I smiled at him before turning back to Grenna.

"I've never been to Meathead territory, how is it?" I wanted to know how the conditions were like; Mogadon may be holding back some information, so maybe Grenna could tell me something.

She sighed and put away the materials for my injuries away in a wooden box, before speaking again to me. "Home isn't too bad; we get dragon attacks like everyone else. All types of dragons come, but mainly Nightmares, Timberjacks, and Gronckles are the problems. The Timberjacks terrorize the workers and they can't cut down the trees which are needed to make the ships. No ships, no money. The Nightmares are just plain annoying, they destroyed half of the harvest from last year, and it almost caused a famine that nearly wiped us all out. Thank the Gods that Chief Mogadon and Thuggory found something to curve the hunger."

"How'd they do that?"

"Already telling him all our secrets Grenna, he hasn't even stepped foot off the ship yet." Thuggory spoke; he came out of the shadows and watched me curiously before frowning at Grenna.

"I don't want to keep him on his toes, unlike _some_ people." Grenna stood up and said goodnight to me, before turning to Thuggory and doing the same, though not without giving him a warning look. She went down below deck to her cot and left Thuggory and I alone, a tense air quickly came.

"Grenna has a good heart, but she talks too much at some times." I frowned at his words, not liking how he talked about her.

"I'm just curious; I've never been to Meathead Islands before." I spoke.

"Curiosity killed the cat, Hiccup." Thuggory's eyes narrowed, not just at me, but Toothless as well. He was wrapped around me, still bandaged up after getting shot by Dagur.

Toothless growled at Thuggory, but he just glared at him heatedly. "Why do you hate dragons?"

"Why should I give you a reason?"

"Do you always answer a question with a question?"

"Do you?"

"You know you can't officially ride a dragon without letting go of your past anger towards them, your dad said you were alright with me coming." I pointed out, not trying to rile him up, but that failed.

Thuggory instantly bristled, his whole body tense with disgust. "The thing about my dad is that he sometimes forgets that I like to have control of my life, and people like you who ruin my order, usually are the things that piss me off the most. Everyone is so happy about you coming here, but you need to realize soon, that you won't be welcomed with open arms."

I rolled my eyes at Thuggory's words. "I've been ridiculed almost my entire life by my horrid father and tribe, got captured and beat up by Alvin, almost had my head removed from my shoulders by Bertha's council, and almost died once again, but this time it was about to be by Dagur's hands. I know what it's like to not be welcomed; your glare is enough proof."

Thuggory sneered, his disgust, plain to see. "Do you always have to be a sarcastic know-it-all?"

"Do you always have to be an overbearing ass?" I shouted, pretty sure everyone below ship could hear us, but I didn't care.

Thuggory just turned around and left Toothless and i alone. Though not without throwing me a heated look before he finally disappeared below deck to his bed. Toothless growled one last time before looking at me in concern, cooing to calm me down.

"Don't worry bud, I'm not angry. I'm kind of looking forward to the challenge of the Meatheads."

Mogadon's POV

I grabbed Thuggory as he came down below and dragged him into my room, before I closed the door. He frowned at me, but I didn't care.

"Are you trying to lose our only hope for peace with dragons?" I glared hard at Thuggory, but he scoffed at me, wrenching his arm out of my tight grip.

"Are you serious?" Thuggory shook his head at me, looking like he was ready to laugh at any moment. "You and I both know the dragons are barely a problem, compared to Ragnar and his family."

"Yes, you're right."

Thuggory threw his hands up in frustration. "Then why are you bringing him to our home? You know that there's a high chance that all of this could blow up in our faces when he fails."

"You sound determined to make that happen Thuggory, if you mess up these plans. . . "

Thuggory rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to mess anything up for you at all. That'll be Hiccup's own doing."

"Do you know how many ships we made in the past year? Take a guess."

Thuggory's face scrunched up in confusion, wondering where I was going with this. "I don't know, 50?"

"Wrong, only twelve ships in the past year." Thuggory's eyes widened in shock at the truth I hid from him.

"How is that even possible?" Thuggory spoke. "And why are you telling me this now?"

"Those dragons have been terrorizing the builders for some time and we need those ships. If Hiccup can train the dragons and get them to live with us peacefully—"

Thuggory held his hand up, cutting me off. "That will never happen when half the tribe hates you from last year's incident. Did you tell Hiccup that? Did you tell Chieftess Bertha that? If you add dragons, we're screwed, indefinitely. "

"Enough, my decision has already been made."

Thuggory shook his head. "I won't support you in this, not at all."

I grabbed his shoulders, shaking him up. "Wake up! This is happening whether you like it or not. In public, you will be by my side and try to sway the citizens to the dragon idea. In private, you can moan and groan all you want, but don't you dare try to mess this up. There will be some heavy consequences if I found out you've did something to destroy this plan."

Thuggory didn't say anything as he tore away from me and left for his bedroom. My door was slammed shut, and I put my head in my hands, praying that I made the right decision.

Thuggory's POV

I took off my clothes, armor, and boots, quickly changing into a sleeping tunic and some light pants, ready to climb into bed. Before I could snuff out the candle that was in my room, a knock on my door stopped me.

"Come in!" I looked to see Grenna coming in before shutting the door. She changed into some shorts and a soft tunic that was way too large for her, hanging off one of her shoulders, exposing her skin. She stood in front of me, tapping her foot steadily. "Is there something you need?"

"Why are you being so cruel to Hiccup? He didn't do anything to you." I scoffed at her words, before lying down on my bed, staring hard at her.

"He brought a dragon onto our ship and is going to change everything when we come back home! I'm not fine with this." I knew I was being stubborn, but I didn't care. I've lost so much to dragons and Hiccup being here would ruin my life.

"I know that things at home still haven't been good, but look on the bright side—"

Thuggory cut me off rudely. "Please tell me you're joking, you have to be joking. Half the tribe hates my dad, Lothar wants my Chieftain inheritance, and my fiancé is supporting some crazy dragon idea. This is going to blow up in my Dad's face when Hiccup fails. What bright side can come out of it?"

Grenna gave me a heated glare. "As your fiancé Thuggory, the good that can come out of this, is peace."

Grenna left after that, closing the door behind her and leaving me alone in my room. I snuffed out the candle and climbed into bed, trying to forget Hiccup and his dragon, letting the crashing waves lull me to sleep.

* * *

 _The Meatheads - Docks - Morning_

Hiccup's POV

The first thing I see when the ship meets the docks of Meathead Islands is smoke. The smoke was rising from the ground and rose into the air by the wind and the beating of wings from a few dragons that were escaping with food. One last warrior threw a spear at a Nightmare that had a large bison in its claws, attempting to kill it from escaping and taking what was theirs. The spear hit its soft underbelly, causing the Nightmare to scream out in pain and drop the bison which some warriors caught. The Nightmare's blood splattered everywhere and I tried so hard not to gag right then and there. Mogadon must've noticed my expression, and stepped in front of me to block my vision.

From what I saw, the Meathead Islands had an interesting structure. There were six small, but strong islands that surrounded the main part of the Meatheads tribe in a circle, connected by bridges that led to the main part. As we walked the docks, the Meathead tribe was situated in the mountains, with trees and rocks covering the place more so than Berk, Bog territory, and the Berserk tribe combined. The sun was slowly rising in the sky, and as it got higher, the more attention we drew. Villagers who weren't participating in the late night- early morning raid, ran to greet Mogadon, bowing or just saying hello. I got some suspicious looks from some villagers, wondering what I was doing here. I was still wearing my clothes from Bog territory, with its seal stitched and showing in plain sight from my vest for everyone to see.

I would probably be slightly suspicious as well, especially with a dragon raid that may or may not have ruined the village and random people suddenly coming into your home unannounced. Although, since I was in Mogadon's pack, they seemed to suspect that I was some high-ranking Viking that had business with their tribe, and gave me polite nods. We finally made it to the main hub of the village and it was a flurry of activity.

Men were putting out fires from the raid and women were picking up their crying children, attempting to calm them down as the fear of dragons got to them. There were warriors carrying dragon carcasses, especially Nightmares, all around the place, looking for a place to throw them off a cliff, not giving a chance to even bury them. Guards were fixing stalls and builders were looking at the damage that the dragons caused, assessing how much would need to be fixed in a short amount of time, as the cold air would start coming in a few short months from now.

"Mogadon, you've returned, thank Thor," a man spoke, as he walked up to us. He had on richly furs and well-made leather, and walked with an arrogance that immediately put me on edge. I wasn't the only one as Thuggory seemed to bristle and sneer at him as the man got even closer to us. Thuggory and Grenna clasped each other's hand and held on tight. I raised an eyebrow in exchange at that, but just returned at looking at the man that seemed to put almost all of us on edge. He had the darkest hair I've ever seen, slicked back with something that immediately made me want to gag, as the scent was vile. He had beady grey eyes, which were cold despite him smiling. His smile even made Dagur's look sane. As much as I hated judging one based off their appearance, there was something about him that made me want to jump onto the back of Toothless, and fly away.

The man stopped in front of us and I got an even better look at him. With his slicked backed hair, beady eyes, and fine clothes, he was as big and strong as Mogadon, with bulging muscles and a large sword strapped onto his back, tucked inside his sheath. He smiled politely at Mogadon, but that smile unnerved me.

"Yes, we are, despite some setbacks."Mogadon spoke, but his voice was tight and his posture was rigid. I wondered what made Mogadon so tense around the man.

"Really, and what type of setbacks were there on Berserker territory?" the man spoke, but there seemed to be a glee hidden somewhere behind his questioning. He must've noticed me, since he started to stare intently at me with a hint of suspicion. Mogadon noticed him staring and sighed out annoyance, steeping out of the way and letting him view me completely.

"Ragnar, this is Hiccup." I nodded as Mogadon introduced me to Ragnar. Ragnar puckered his lips in distaste as he noticed the Bog stitched onto my clothes.

"And what is it that you're doing here, Hiccup?" Ragnar's question brought tension immediately, onto our group. I could feel everyone's stares on me, begging to answer the question in the smartest manner as possible, without drawing too much suspicion.

 _Such faith they have in me._

"I'm here to help Mogadon construct new buildings and look at a project that the Bog-Burglars are creating here on Meathead Islands." _It wasn't a complete lie._

Ragnar quickly turned to Mogadon, his eyes blazing with a barely hidden fury. The guards that came back with us clenched their spears tightly, waiting to make a move on Mogadon's command. Mogadon slowly shook his head, and the guards loosened their grips on their weapons, but barely.

"Before you open your mouth and say something that'll probably end up with you in a cell before mid-afternoon today, no questions until tomorrow. We're tired and had trouble on the way back home. The Council will not convene until tomorrow evening." Mogadon's order was loud and clear and it took everything I had not to laugh at Ragnar right then and there. "The village was attacked and my need my help. If you have anything to say, it can wait until tomorrow evening."

Ragnar quickly bowed and walked away, but I could hear him grumbling in anger. Mogadon just shook his head and clapped to get our attention. He turned to us and looked at Gunther, who nodded his head at a silent request. He left us, following the path of Ragnar's fury.

"Thuggory and Grenna, take Hiccup to Talisa so she can treat him. Grenna, keep an eye on these two and make sure they don't kill each other. Make sure Hiccup gets a change of clothes and show him to the house." Grenna just smiled in response, happy to help me while Thuggory looked peeved.

"I'm pretty sure I can show Hiccup where our house is Dad." Thuggory sent a look towards his father, which he just ignored.

"You really think I'm going to trust you with Hiccup after I heard the both of you fighting aboard the ship just a few hours ago?" Thuggory just shrugged his shoulders and walked away, while I frowned but sent a grateful look towards Mogadon, before leaving the group and following Thuggory.

"Don't worry Chief, I'll make sure they don't kill each other." Grenna spoke, she ran away to catch up with Thuggory and I, as we made our way down to Talisa.

 _Healer's hut_

The first thing that I saw when I entered was an elderly woman covered in blood and holding a pair of bloody shears. I tried hard not to pass out right then and there, despite the fact that I've seen plenty of much worse sights. Grenna and Thuggory just looked amused at the elderly woman, who reeked of blood, sweat, and, tears. She was the complete opposite of Gothi who was silent and small, Kerda and Lana who were kind and welcoming. This woman must have been Talisa, the head healer. She was old, probably pushing seventy from her graying hair, but her body didn't seem to match with that. She had her amount of wrinkles but she was tall and firm, moving without struggle, her hazel eyes alive with youth. She finally noticed our presence and smiled widely at us in greeting.

"Grenna, it's about time you returned, I was so bored without my best gal!" Talisa tossed the pair of bloody shears into a barrel of water while wiping off the excess blood on her arms and face. She acted like more of a teenager than an elderly woman. "Thuggory, did you get me those herbs from the Berserkers? They're so stingy with their prices of goods, Dagur may be insane but he does know how screw you over at a moment's notice."

Thuggory pulled out a satchel that I missed; it was large with the symbol of the Meatheads tribe – a tree with twin swords plunged into it – stitched onto it and handed it to Talisa. She opened the satchel and breathed in the scents of a mixture of herbs happily, before placing it onto a nearby shelf in the corner. She pinched Thuggory's cheeks as thanks and he protested, but I could tell he secretly enjoyed the attention she gave him. Her eyes finally landed on me and her eagerness dimmed, but just a bit.

"Well, who is this handsome young fellow?" Talisa asked, her eyes filled with curiosity and kindness.

"If you haven't figured it out already, this is Talisa, she's the head healer for us Meatheads." Grenna smiled. "This is Hiccup; he's a special visitor here to help." I heard Thuggory mutter 'for now' under his breath after she finished introducing me, but Grenna kicked a leg of the chair he was sitting on, forcing him to crash onto the floor but not without being covered in some dirty water which left him coughing in disgust. He glared at her in anger, but Grenna still smiled and looked at Talisa with an innocent look.

Talisa stared at the three of us in confusion, but ignored what just happened wisely. She probably didn't have the patience to deal with all of us at once, and I knew I was slowly going to lose it from Thuggory being an unreasonable person to me. "What do you mean by special, is something going to happen?" Her eyes darted to Thuggory, looking for an answer.

Thuggory grabbed a nearby rag, wiping off the dirty water from his wet clothes. "Unfortunately, yes. I don't know how you'll react, but I'm going to be as far away when the bomb goes off." Talisa didn't understand, but frowned and now looked at me with a slight hesitation now, which I wanted to avoid from people. She just shrugged her shoulders, and accepted that answer for now until she would get a better explanation from Mogadon himself. Thuggory stayed out of Talisa and Grenna's way while they changed my gauzes and examined me fully. Talisa gave me a box full of herbs for pain and dismissed all three of us to enjoy the day while she headed upstairs to deal with some kids who got some major cuts from the raid before.

As we exited, I looked to see the village more alive than before. Builders were running around with supplies, women were opening up their shops; the nearby forge was repairing damaged weapons, practically all the villagers who had duties were staring them now and trying to finish it as fast as possible. Grenna pulled Thuggory and I out of the way to make room for a group of women who were carrying herbs and pastes in jars for Talisa, who would have her hands full for most of the day, especially if people were injured during the raid. We walked further into the village, as Grenna directed us, or mainly me, to the seamstresses to buy new clothing.

I was prodded and measured by the seamstress, before she found some clothes in my size. I grabbed a few tunics and a new pair of boots, since the ones I brought from Bog territory was completely ruined and I was wearing Destin's old ones right now. Despite my protests, Thuggory and Grenna paid for my clothes and led me towards the Chieftan's home, mainly Mogadon and Thuggory's home. Grenna left to return home, but not before giving the both of us a warning look to stay out of trouble. When Grenna walked away, Thuggory was leaning against the door, looking at me strangely.

"What is it?" I asked, wondering why he was looking at me like that.

"Nothing," he spoke, his voice barely giving hint to what was really going on in that head of his. He opened the door and we walked inside, with him shutting the door. I placed my basket down, taking in the scene of the Engström household.

It was inviting, with family portraits decorating the walls and comfy couches with pillows near the hearths Thuggory started to clean out. There was a small desk in the corner near the living area, where untouched scrolls and books were piled up. I looked to my left to see a large kitchen and table where fruit were in a bowl untouched. Thuggory came back; dirty with the black soot of the hearths covering him from head to toe. He coughed and sneezed, before getting himself under control, and motioning for me to follow him upstairs.

I grabbed my basket and walked up the stairs and noticed even more portraits. There was one that caught my attention. It was probably the largest in the house. It consisted of four people, Mogadon, Thuggory, and two females. Mogadon was younger, slightly less bulky with an even shorter beard and mustache, smiling brightly at the woman in his arms. The woman was beautiful. She had thick, curly black hair that fell to her waist and was posed softly for the painting. Her light blue dress seemed to come to life as she placed her hands on the young girl who was smiling wide and bright, the spitting image of the woman herself. Thuggory looked happy, his chest puffed out as he tried to look as big as Mogadon, but not without holding onto the young girl beside him. I looked at the names scribbled onto the portrait.

 _The Engström Household: Chief Mogadon and his wife Edna, with their children Thuggory and Devina._

I must've been staring at the portrait for such a long time, since Thuggory clasped my shoulder, as tight as possible. That put me on the defensive immediately, making my Bog training kick in. I grabbed his hand and twisted it back. He ripped his hand out of my grip, and threw a punch. His fist met my eye, and I flew back, hitting the wall. I got up and was about to attack him, but hurried footsteps caused the both of us to halt and turn to see Grenna looking at the both of us in anger.

"Really!?" she started, her anger was starting to show and I winced at her tone. "I forgot to ask the both of you if you wanted to grab lunch afterwards, since you probably wanted to sleep in before being harassed by the others, so I came back to ask. It's a good thing I did since you two are idiots! It looks like I'll have to babysit you so neither of you kill each other while you sleep." Thuggory ignored her and pointed to the door behind me, while he picked up my basket and slammed it in front of me.

"That's your room." He spoke coldly, not giving me any emotion at all. He turned away and opened the door to his room, but stopped before entering. He turned around and gave me a cold smile. "Welcome to Meathead Islands.

He slammed the door hard and both Grenna and I winced in response. I just pulled my basket inside my room and closed the door behind me, not giving Grenna a chance to say anything as she stood in the hallway, wondering what to do with the both of us.

Grenna's POV

I immediately opened the door to Thuggory's room, not caring if he was fully naked or still covered in soot. I could hear him in the bathroom, cursing as he scrubbed himself clean, as water splashed the floor. I waited on his bed and he came out about ten minutes later, with just a towel wrapped around his waist. He didn't notice me yet as he was drying his hair with another towel, I took that time to really look at him. His muscles were clearly well defined and shown perfectly. I started to blush as the thought of us being married quickly crossed into my mind. It was quickly wiped away as a wet towel met my head.

"Thuggory!" I pouted, even though he couldn't see it. I was about to rip off the towel, but his firm hand on top of my hand stopped me from doing so.

"No peaking when I'm changing Grenny." I almost groaned at that old nickname he made up for me when we were kids, but held my tongue as I waited for him to change. A few minutes later, the towel was removed and put into a basket where he kept his dirty clothes. He wore a simple pair of pants and a burgundy tunic with his hair pulled back in just a ponytail. He looked relaxed, but he was avoiding my sight.

"Did you really have to punch him?" I started since Thuggory was being stubborn. He smirked at my question before flopping onto his heavily furred bed, stretching like a lazy cat.

"He almost snapped my wrist, was I not supposed to do anything?" Thuggory turned to me, his eyes searching my own as he waited for an answer from me. I frowned at that and took his wrist into my hands. I gasped as I traced the prints of Hiccup's fingers on his wrist, moving my finger to each one. I looked at Thuggory in concern and he just sent me a small smile in return. He patted my head and unraveled my braid to run his fingers through my long hair. I lied down next to him as I hummed in content and clasped his marked wrist once again, running my finger all over him.

"Hiccup isn't that bad Thug, don't push him away because he rides a dragon." Thuggory stopped his movements and I raised my head to look at him clearly. His eyes were conflicted and he was about to open his mouth, but I placed my hand over it, stopping him from saying anything. "I know you miss your mother and Devina, but you need to let them go. If you keep on living just to hate dragons and attempt to kill them all in revenge, you're going to get yourself killed. There's no way I'm going to stand by and watch as you slowly self-destruct. Just try and get along with him, you don't have to be best friends or warrior brothers to the end, is that so hard?"

I waited for a response from him, but he licked my hand instead. I ripped my hand away from my mouth as he laughed from licking my hand. I slapped him in response and he still laughed. I rolled my eyes at him and waited for him to stop, and he quickly calmed himself down.

"I'll try, but if anything goes wrong, he's screwed." I nodded at his words and was about to leave his bed, but he pulled me back against his strong chest.

"I'm not getting out of here, am I?" He gave me a devious smile in response and pulled the blankets over us as we nestled into his bed. "My father's going to kill you if he finds out I'm here."

"It's a good thing your dad's been stuck training new recruits for the past month to notice." He started to yawn, evidence of him being exhausted.

"Oh shut it." He laughed at me as I spoke again, but he stared to fall asleep, not before I gave him a quick kiss on his cheek and quickly falling asleep as well, too tired to think if Thuggory would really keep his word on his promise to me.

 _Mid- Afternoon_

Thuggory's POV

I woke up to see Grenna standing up, braiding her hair and straightening her clothes to get the least amount of wrinkles in them as possible. I smirked at that before yawning lightly, gaining her attention. She smiled at me and kicked my boots over to me to put on as she finished tidying herself up. I put them on and stretched, hearing my bones crack with each movement I did. Grenna winced at the noise and I laughed at her, before we left my room and went across the hall to Hiccup's.

Grenna gave me a knowing look and I just ignored her as I knocked on Hiccup's door. I didn't get a response and knocked again. Grenna and I both looked at each other in worry and I slammed his door open in fear. His bed was touched, shown from the messy blankets and sheets, but Hiccup was nowhere to be found. I ran back to my room and grabbed my sword and one for Grenna as we raced outside to look for Hiccup. We got strange looks from passing villagers as we raced around the outside of my house, before stopping to see footprints leading into the forest behind my home.

Grenna and I picked up our speed before we stopped to see Hiccup in a clearing. He was sitting peacefully, sketching inside a journal against a tree, without a care in the world. We were waiting for him to notice us and he turned around when he must've felt our angry stares.

"What in the name of Thor are you doing!?" I yelled. I was pretty pissed when he disappeared. Hiccup looked suspicious at my sign of concern for him, and I tried hard not to feel pain from how I treated him.

"Hiccup, you can't roam the forest by yourself, ever!" Grenna yelled her warning loud and clear for him to hear. He blinked in shock before standing up to tuck his journal inside his vest and brushed the dirt off of himself.

"I'm sorry, I just needed to get up and get some fresh air." Hiccup apologized. He looked at the clearing and turned back to the both of us. "Why can't I roam the forest by myself? I wouldn't think of it as a problem."

I glared at hm. "Of course it's a problem! Don't you know that the Meatheads have the largest forest in the Archipelago? We even beat the Berserkers and their land is bigger than ours!"

Hiccup had a blank look on his face and was about to open his mouth, but I raised a hand to stop him and continue my explanation.

"We Meatheads produce about almost all the ships in the archipelago due to our vast amount of trees on our lands. The forest overtakes ¾ of the land, and we adjusted to the land greatly. Last year, some drunken teens ran off into the forest and weren't heard from again. It took my father about a week to bring back their dead bodies to their parents after they attempted to fight the Timberjack the resides deep in the forest. Ever since then, you have to have a party of at least five people with you even if you want to go camping."

"I got it." Hiccup spoke, nodding at my explanation.

"Good, now let's get something to eat." I put my sword away into its sheath and led us out of the clearing, but made sure to turn around every now and then to make sure Hiccup was behind me.

* * *

 _Meatheads Tribe-The Great Hall_

Hiccup's POV

 _What in Thor's name happened to Thuggory?_

He was being slightly less hostile and nicer, which unnerved me. We almost had a screaming match back at the ship on your way here, and now he's tolerating me. I honestly don't know if I should be afraid for my life right now. Thuggory was leading us to the Great Hall for some late lunch, and I didn't realize how hungry I was until my stomach started to growl. Grenna giggled while Thuggory just shook his head at the both of us. He opened the door to the Great Hall and I was shocked at what I saw. I knew the Meatheads had a thing for their trees, but this was ridiculous.

There was a giant tree in the back of the Great Hall, its roots stretching along the floor behind the High table and its branches stretched and intertwined with the stones of the Great Hall. I turned to Thuggory and he just shook his head.

"Don't ask."

I didn't.

We made a beeline where the food was piled up at a table in the back. I grabbed a plate and placed some smoked meat, potatoes, fish, and some bread, while grabbing some warm milk and following Thuggory and Grenna to a table in the middle of the room. We immediately dug in, not bothering to say anything or start talking as we were too hungry to start a conversation. I chewed on my meat and sighed out in appreciation as the spices burst onto my tongue.

I was about to ask Thuggory a question – since he seemed much more approachable now – but three figures made my question die in my throat. Two guys and one girl sat down at the table and looked shocked to see me sitting with Thuggory and Grenna. The first person that caught my attention was the bulky guy sitting next to Thuggory, watching me interest.

"Thuggory, who's this?" he asked, his voice laced with curiosity.

Thuggory swallowed his food and sighed. "Hiccup, meet Uther, Laelia, and Ralph, they're my friends here at home."

"Nice to meet you Hiccup, I hope the dragons didn't scare you off." Laelia spoke, her voice kind and welcoming. She was small, possibly even smaller than Palva. Her light blue eyes shining with warmth as she pushed back her red hair out of her face.

"Don't take that innocent look for granted, Hiccup." Uther spoke suddenly as he popped a piece of bread into his mouth and quickly swallowed. He turned towards me, before pointing his fork at Laelia. "This one here is quite the imp."

I looked at Laelia and just saw her smiling the entire time. I turned to Thuggory and he nodded in confirmation at Uther's word.

"They're telling the truth, Hiccup." Ralph spoke, as he pushed his glasses and scratched his brown curls in thought. "Imp is putting Laelia's twisted personality in a kind manner."

"That's kind?" I asked.

"Yes," everyone confirmed, even Laelia. I just laughed before taking another bite of my food, listening to them talk and argue this afternoon.

* * *

 _Near the docks- Afternoon_

"And here we have our lovely docks, where all our ships come and go. They bring in food and supplies, as well as new citizens every other month."

"Laelia, Hiccup's already seen the docks." Ralph spoke.

"Hush, I'm not done yet."

"You are in my mind," I heard Uther mutter. We were walking along the stone bridges near the docks, as Laelia came up with the idea of giving me a tour of the island. I had seen the Kill Ring – which I hope that will transform into a Dragon Academy – the forge, the stalls, parts of the forest and more. It was a strong island, perfect for defense, as long as these bridges stood. If not the Meatheads were screwed since any enemy could attack them at any moment.

My thoughts were interrupted as I heard a splash. I looked down to see Uther in the water, cursing at Laelia who was resting dangerously on the edge of the stone bridge. She laughed while Ralph, Thuggory, and Grenna just watched on in amusement.

"You're lucky the water's still warm, if not, I would've actually felt bad for pushing you in." Laelia laughed even louder, but Uther was not having any of it. With his strength, he quickly climbed up the stone bridge with little struggle and chased the screaming Laelia in revenge.

"Come on Ralph, let's make sure they don't kill each other or anyone." Grenna spoke, wrapping an arm around Ralph's shoulders and leading him away to check on the two bickering teens. Now it was just Thuggory and I.

I couldn't really tell where Thuggory and I stood at, as we didn't really have the best first meeting. We almost got into a screaming match back on the ship here, got into a fistfight in the house, and we didn't speak that much even when were in a group with the others. Thuggory must have had the same thought, as we looked at each other and held onto one another's stares, not ready to give in at all. Thuggory was about to open his mouth, but a shrill scream from Laelia made us turn to see her falling into the sea.

I laughed, catching Thuggory's attention. He turned back to me, with a curious look in my eye, trying to figure me out.

"What is it?" I spoke, wondering why he was staring so intently at me.

"You laughed; you've barely laughed since you've stepped off Bertha's ship." He whispered, not wanting to take any chances with the guards who were situated on each island post where the bridge was.

"It's not like I was welcomed with open arms, Thuggory." I spoke bluntly, not trying to hide my frustration with him. Thuggory was acting strange and he needed to decide if I was his friend or enemy, I was tired of tiptoeing around him and we've only met some hours ago.

"What did you expect when you first came here?" He searched my face, looking for any hint of emotion to exploit, but I gave him nothing. "Did you expect the entire tribe to suddenly just embrace you with open arms? Did you expect that we would be best friends immediately without any type of conflict between us? Did you expect that dragons would live here within two weeks and we would be riding in the sky in perfect harmony?"

I didn't say anything or move a muscle, waiting for Thuggory to finish.

"Do you have any idea what it's like living to fight those damned beasts that can take anything away from you at any moment of the day? Vikings can't fly or breathe fire. The only thing we know how to do is fight until we're the last ones standing. That portrait of my family is the last time I remember all of us smiling and laughing together. It was painted a month before my mother and sister died, and every time I think of them, I don't remember clearly how my mom made my favorite sweets when I did great in training. I don't remember playing with my sister as we acted out fighting a Nightmare or me just helping her play pranks on my dad. All I remember are there burned and charred bodies, staring down at me. You don't know what it's like to lose the people you love at all."

Thuggory was breathing heavily as his eyes shined with tears that threatened to fall. I watched in pain as Thuggory confessed to me his feelings of resentment towards dragons. I nodded my head in respect towards him, before opening my mouth to speak.

"I don't know what it's like to lose family." I spoke calmly, holding Thuggory's attention. "My mother was taken by a dragon a few months after I was born. Stoick practically ignored me unless I made a mess for him in the village, which got me a harsh scolding. I never had a family until I went to Bog territory. Instead of being yelled at or having disgusted looks thrown my way, I now get hugs and requests on projects. I wake up every single day ready to train or help anybody, instead of hating life. Don't let your hate consume you, Thuggory."

He smiled a bit at my words, before turning his small smile into a look of warning.

"Grenna said something like that a few hours ago, actually." He spoke, as he ran his hands in exasperation through his hair.

"She's smart."

"That she is. I need you to understand that your actions have consequences, so don't come back with us unless you're ready to take on another tribe to integrate dragons with. If anything happens, that's on you." We both turned to see Ralph, Uther, Laelia, and Grenna talking softly and laughing at something, completely calm and enjoying life. We turned back to each other and Thuggory permitted me to speak again, if I needed too.

"When you were at Oswald's funeral and Dagur's crowning, did you notice the tensions between Alvin and Bertha?" My question threw Thuggory off guard, his mouth puckered as he attempted to recall what happened in the Great Hall of the Berserkers.

"Yeah, why?"

"That was because Camicazi and I defeated him aboard his ship which resulted in the Bogs and the Outcasts practically declaring war on one another. I fought with Camicazi and our friends to get the Book of Dragons back after being tricked by someone I thought was a friend. Nobody died on our side, but it ended with Bertha having a sword put through her by Alvin himself, which resulted in him being burned by Deadshot, Bertha's Nadder." Thuggory's eyes widened as I told him the short version of what happened back on Outcast Island. I could tell he had plenty of questions, but he kept his mouth closed to let me finish. "I watched as Camicazi cradled Bertha in shock, after seeing her mother fight hard and go down because of my mistake. I saw Bertha stitched up and being wiped of blood as Camicazi changed to become the leader of the Bog-Burglars if Bertha didn't make it. Thankfully, Bertha made it and recovered. So believe me, when I say I know my actions have dire consequences."

There was silence between us, and the only thing we heard was the sound of wind blowing all around us.

"I hate your idea of integrating dragons." Thuggory spoke again.

I nodded. "I know."

"No you don't." Thuggory's voice turned cold. "You're playing a dangerous game here with these dragons."

"What will it take for you to believe in me?" I looked at him, wondering what was so dangerous about training dragons here. "You don't want me here, I get that."

Thuggory scoffed and rolled his eyes at me. "No, you don't."

"Just tell me, and I might understand."

"Not here, but later." Thuggory spoke, before walking back to the others who were so cheerfully oblivious to the drastic change that was soon to come.

Mogadon's POV

"What is wrong with the both of you?" I asked both of the boys as we sat down for dinner at home. I didn't want Hiccup to be ambushed by the rest of the Council, so I told them I would be at home to speak with Thuggory on a personal matter that didn't need to be addressed to the whole tribe at the Great Hall tonight.

I placed the smoked boar on the table and started to cut it as I waited for an answer from either Hiccup or Thuggory, although they both seemed more interested in the boar than me, as they started to cut their own servings for themselves without answering my question.

Since they didn't seem to understand, I talked again. "Grenna says you two got into a fistfight this morning."

Thuggory chewed his meat slowly as he avoided my piercing stare. He put his fork down and slumped in his seat a bit, before finally opening his mouth.

"Maybe, maybe not."

"Thuggory!"

"Actually . . .," we turned to Hiccup who sheepishly ran his hand through his darkening red hair. "I may have attacked Thuggory first; it wasn't the other way around, if that's what you were thinking."

I was silent at that and turned to look at Thuggory, who practically smirked at me in amusement. I rolled my eyes at him and just sipped my ale in my response. I knew they got into fight when I saw Thuggory's bandaged wrist and Hiccup's bruised face, but these boys are going to drive me to an early grave that I know.

"Mogadon, why don't you and Ragnar have a good relationship?" Hiccup asked, but I could tell he was treading carefully in order not to be too invasive. Thuggory dropped his fork when Ragnar's name came out of Hiccup's mouth and I tried not to laugh as we both hated that man greatly.

"Hiccup, Ragnar is a bitter and foolish man who craves power." I explained to him, watching as he took in the information I gave him. "He's hated my family for years and craves the Chieftainship so he can have full control over the tribe."

"Why?" I was about to answer him, but Thuggory spoke out first.

"My great-great-great grandfather married his great-great-great grandfather's choice of bride." He said, swirling his finger on the rim of his wooden cup. "Ever since then, Ragnar's family has had it out for us Engström's."

"That's an understatement, I'll say." Hiccup and Thuggory turned back to me. "That man is nothing but a greedy fool who would do anything for power. He planned out his late wife's pregnancy to Edna's so we both can have children at the same time. Since his daughter Lana was born, he's been practically shoving her down our throats to get her to be Thuggory's wife. And his son Lothar has been a thorn in my side since day one, trying to get Thuggory's future Chieftain title."

Hiccup seemed to perk up at that. "Is that why he's so against Grenna and Thuggory?"

"Yup," Thuggory nodded. "You should've seen his reaction when Dad announced our engagement last year before Snoggletog, man practically flipped a table in response!"

All three of us laughed out loud and it seemed better that Hiccup was here in my home as I haven't had a laugh with Thuggory in months. As we quieted and even wiped a few tears from our eyes, I needed Hiccup to understand the trouble we face here at home.

"Hiccup," I spoke, my voice laced with a heavy and serious tone, gardening not just Hiccup, but Thuggory's attention. "We have raids every now and then; some are consistent or just won't even happen for some months, or rarely a year. As you know, we Meatheads produce many ships and supplies for the archipelago, but some dragons have been terrorizing the builders, that we've have less than the usual amount we bring in each season. Timberjacks, Nightmares, and Gronckles reside here and they've only gotten bigger and stronger."

Hiccup nodded in understanding and Thuggory just watched the both of us, silent as he drank his cider.

"The last time I sent some men to deal with them, they all ended up dead and their families still have not forgotten that today. Raganar is a man who would do anything for power so I need you to be as careful as possible to not alert him of what you're really doing here. Half the tribe hates me after that incident in the forest and Ragnar has been trying to make a bid for my Chieftainship ever since then. I plan to tell the Council about your presence here in three days, so you have until then to get those dragons under control. Ragnar will take any opportunity to strike, and the faster you deal with those dragons, the better. Thuggory and the others will assist you, but I need him to tell his friends so they won't think you're trying to swindle or lie to them."

"How many are there?" Hiccup spoke, with his green eyes burning in determination to help.

"The last time I checked, there were four Timberjacks, three Nightmares, and two Gronckles."

"I can't believe you still don't see the bigger picture." Thuggory scoffed. He turned to me, his eyes blazing with fury. "If this dragon plan of yours fails, we are all screwed. You better hope it works."

"Thuggory, enough of that and be quiet!" I yelled, my voice so loud it echoed in the now silent room. "Thuggory will help you move your dragon into the forest, keeping him out of sight. I'll deal with the Council and that is that."

I got up after that and started to clear our dishes and let the boys get a head start on their difficult task. I didn't know what to do with Thuggory, his anger was getting out of control and it'll put us in danger. Then again, his words are true, especially if Hiccup fails.

* * *

 _The Kill Ring - Night_

Hiccup's POV

Thuggory and I were running as fast as possible, but trying to be silent about it at the same time. It didn't take long to travel down to the Kill Ring to see Toothless since Thuggory had memorized the patterns and times of the guards' schedule, something I thanked him for when he pulled the lever of the gate open. I opened the cage where Toothless was being kept in, and the first thing I saw was his large green eyes, peering at me in eagerness. He pounced on me and I fell onto the cold floor of the Kill Ring, trying to keep my laughter as quiet as possible as Toothless jumped all around in happiness to see me again.

I grasped his neck and hugged him, and he tucked his wings around me and I just laughed in response.

"Sorry for leaving you in here all by yourself, things have been pretty tense." I apologized to Toothless and he snorted in disbelief before unwrapping me and swinging his tail to hit me on the back of my head. "Ow! Maybe I deserved that."

The look he just gave me spoke volumes and I tried hard not to burst out laughing. I took his wings into my hands and started to massage them, knowing that they were probably cramped from him being in such a tight cage all day after Mogadon secretly placed him here in broad daylight.

 _That I'm still trying to figure out how he did._

I was still massaging Toothless' wings that I forgot Thuggory was still here, watching over me. I turned and saw that he was quite speechless. His eyes were wide and his mouth was shut, probably not wanting to say anything to upset him or Toothless. Toothless must have noticed my change, as he turned his head to see Thuggory, and instantly went on edge.

He pulled me with his tail, hiding me behind his large body, his wings spread out in a threatening manner. Toothess hissed menacingly and flapped his wings, attempting to get Thuggory as far away from me as possible. As I tried to calm Toothless down, I noticed Thuggory didn't move a muscle. I couldn't tell if it was out of bravery or shock, but Thuggory seemed to not care.

"You don't scare me, you know that right?" Thuggory told Toothless, which ceased his movements.

"You're not scared of him?" I asked Thuggory, watching his reaction carefully.

"No way, I've seen worse sights than him before, so why should I be scared of a Night Fury?" Thuggory shrugged his shoulders in a lazy manner, not showing so much emotion to me or Toothless.

Toothless shook me off him and circled Thuggory, showing his open curiosity to him, wondering what he could've seen that doesn't make him afraid of one of the most feared dragons in the Archipelago. Toothless stopped and returned to my side, poking his head at me for attention, and I gave him a quick pat on his head.

"Hiccup, it's time to go. There'll be some guards coming in a few minutes." Thuggory warned me. I smiled softly and he seemed to perk up at that and offered me a gummy smile in response, but turned to Thuggory and swiped his tail at him. Thuggory and I closed his door and quickly rushed outside, closing the Kill Ring's door and making our way back home, along with Toothless. I didn't attempt to ask Thuggory if he wanted to ride Toothless, since our relationship with each other was slowly on the mend. It took longer to reach the cove in the forest Thuggory told me about since we were walking with Toothless and trying not to get caught. By the time we made it, it had already been an hour, when I thought it was just twenty minutes. Thuggory warned me about this forest, but the length of it was just insane. I said goodbye to Toothless again and Thuggory and I left. An hour later, as we hid in a dark corner, waiting for a guard to pass, I noticed Thuggory had a small smile on his face after his time with Toothless.

* * *

 _Morning- Walking in the village – Meatheads tribe_

Grenna's POV

"Three days to fix everything, is Mogadon crazy?" I whispered to Hiccup, as we walked into the village, headed to the forge. Hiccup spoke to me about his dinner conversation with Thuggory and Mogadon when he first saw me today, and I couldn't help but be surprised.

"I don't even know where to start, honestly." He sighed out and ran a hand through his darkening red hair in stress, worried about what to do first. I smacked the back of his head and he snapped out of it, his green eyes widening in shock at my action.

"You'll be fine, Hiccup." I reassured him, as we got closer to the forge. "I don't know why you're so h—" I was cut off as a figure rudely bumped into me. I was about to let it go until I noticed who it was. Lana.

 _May Freya give me patience to deal with Lana right now._

As if she could read my thoughts, she scowled, her pretty face morphing into one of a mad dog's. Lana was always beautiful, but her personality was as ugly as her black heart. She word her status proudly as a daughter of a high ranking Viking family, always wearing the most colorful clothes or getting jewels from unknown tribes that made lesser girls of the tribe feel jealous. Today she wore a burgundy dress with the symbol of our tribe stitched onto the back of it. Her fur cloak was off and in her arms as a golden sash was tied around her tiny waist, showing her more noticeable clothes. I would have complimented her on her looks, but her dress was cut low, showcasing as much of her chest as possible. Her dark locks fell to her waist, as her jeweled headband rest on top her of her head, like she was wearing a crown for all to see.

"I almost didn't see you there, Grenna." Lana spoke, her voice adopting a sugary sweet tone that made me want to vomit. "But then again, who would notice someone wearing rags around our esteemed tribe?" She sent me a small smirk and it took everything I had not to slap her right then and there.

"It's such a joy to be in your presence Lana." I spoke, smiling widely with enough hatred for her. She smirked in triumph, but then realized my sarcasm and glared, her hazel eyes narrowing as I struggled not to roll my eyes at her.

"I don't even know what you're trying to prove by staying by Thuggory's side. Everyone knows that I'm a better match for him and only staying will hurt him drastically."

"And you're a better match for him?" I laughed at her stupidity, shaking my head and folding my arms as I stared at her. "How is dressing like a whore at ten in the morning showcasing your abilities to be known as a great wife for Thuggory?"

Lana's eyes darkened in anger at my words. "What did you just call me?"

"A whore, isn't that why your father paid off the Chief who visited last year after your sad attempt to bed his son went downhill?"

Lana was frozen in shock and her eyes shifted around to see that there were people staring at us, whispering to one another and silently laughing. Lana snapped, ready to open her mouth and say whatever she thought in that small brain of hers, but I beat her to it first.

"You don't know anything that happens in this tribe as you stick your nose up in the air and look down on those who have any status lower than your own. If you want to insult me, go right ahead, I can take it. But you will never insult Thuggory and try to ruin him. If you hadn't realized, you're the one who would bring him down. You think the whole tribe likes you, when in fact everybody hates you!"

Lana finally cracked, her pretty face morphed into something that Loki himself would be afraid of. She trembled in anger and raised her hands, ready to slap me as hard as possible in that bony hand of hers. I waited for her hand to meet my cheek, not bothering to get out of the way. Unfortunately, her arm was caught by three hands. I looked and saw Lothar, Thuggory, and Hiccup, who I forgot was here.

Lothar glared hard at his sister, his bulk practically making her look like a small child as he stood next to her. Thuggory held Lana's wrist, sending her a fierce glare and Lothar a challenging stare. Hiccup on the other hand, let go and took a step back, watching as Lothar, Lana, Thuggory, and I grabbed the attention of everyone who was watching in interest, not daring to get into the messy relationship the four of us had.

Hiccup's POV

I knew Grenna forgot all about me when Lana came and eventually riled her up. I didn't interfere as the girls were yelling at each other, until Lana was ready to slap Grenna, and that was the last straw. I wouldn't let Grenna get hurt over Lana's stupidity. She was beautiful alright, but she had the worst personality I have ever seen. I grabbed her arm, but at the same time, so did Thuggory and some other guy. I assumed this was Lothar, as both him and Lana looked strikingly similar and she seemed to falter in his presence. I let go of her and took a few steps back into the crowd that grew to see the four of them have a screaming match. Thuggory ignored me and focused on the three others by his side, and for once, I was happy that someone else would be getting his dislike.

Thuggory spoke first, his eyes shifting to Lana as he let go of her. "What in the name of Thor are you doing?"

Lana didn't speak, embarrassed to be humiliated in front of everyone, especially in front of Thuggory. She kept her head down, trying to salvage what was left of her pride.

Lothar removed his hand from Lana's wrist and placed it underneath her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually agree with Engstrom." Lana's eyes widened in shock, or fear, I couldn't tell. "What makes you think you can attack Grenna without any consequence?"

Lana opened and closed her mouth like a fish, shocked that her brother would not fight for her. The whispers in the crowd only got worse, and louder.

"What a stupid girl, it's about time she got what she deserved."

"I've never seen such arrogance, how distasteful."

"She slept with a Chief's son? I'm not surprised; she's just like her mother. . ."

Lana was shaking and tears started to fall out of her eyes as she wrenched out of her brother's grip and ran away sobbing. I wasn't surprised that Lothar didn't follow her, he didn't seem like the sibling that would offer much comfort. Destin and Dalla were super close, comforting each other when things went bad. Heck, even Ruffnut and Tuffnut stopped their bickering and pranking to help each other when they decided they had a heart.

Lothar turned to Thuggory and Grenna, giving them a look as if he was waiting for something. Seeing his expression, Thuggory just tightened his hold on Grenna and glared at Lothar.

Lothar laughed. "No thanks for someone who helped you, Grenna?"

Grenna scoffed, tired of Lothar already. "Thanks, but I didn't need your help or ask for it."

"How rude, I would've thought a girl as smart as you would realize when you're in danger. You might be at any moment." Thuggory stepped in front of Grenna, covering her from Lothar's stare. He took a few steps and was practically touching Lothar's head, as the both of them glared at each other.

"Was that a threat, Lothar?" Thuggory snarled, his temper rising and his body shaking. Grenna widened her eyes and I couldn't believe this Lothar guy was bold enough to risk Thuggory's anger and Mogadon's. Lothar smiled coyly, not caring for Thuggory's anger.

"I don't know, was it?" Lothar shrugged his shoulders in mock innoncence as I watched with the other Meathead cotizens. "Don't worry Thuggory, you'll know when I make a threat." Lothar turned around, ready to leave, but paused. He turned around and his eyes searched the crowd, until they landed on mine. He walked up to me, with a curious look in his eye. I held onto his stare, but this seemed to be the wrong move on my part as his curious stared turned into a glare.

"Yes?" I asked, not bothering trying to play innocent. Lothar seemed to understand and didn't attempt to put on a false act, no matter who was watching.

"Who are you?"Lothar asked, or demanded to be better accurate. "You wore clothes from the Bog-Burglar tribe when I saw you come off that ship, and now you wear clothes from my tribe and our symbol."

"My name is Hiccup and I lived at the Bog-Burglar tribe."

" _Lived?"_ Lothar didn't seem to buy what I was saying. "You don't seem like a Bog. Most Bogs have this air around them, making people either fear or love them. They also are annoyingly loud and obnoxious, but you're quiet."

"I'm that one in a million chance that there's a quiet Bog."

"I don't believe that or anything that's been coming out of your mouth." Lothar stepped back, looking at me one last time. "There's something about you that brings my guard up." Lothar left, not bothering with me or Grenna and Thuggory. Thuggory motioned for me to follow him and Grenna back to the house, not wanting to stop or give any more suspicion to the departing crowd whose eyes that I felt burning a whole into my back as we walked away.

There was one thing I knew, and that Ragnar and his family were trouble.

* * *

Afternoon – Meatheads Tribe – Kill Ring

Thuggory's POV

I slammed my sword against Uther's and winced as he leaned all his weight against me in order to pressure me. I leaned right and he went down onto the ground, but he quickly got himself back up and we both came at one another, parrying swords and blocking close calls. He almost got me, when I tripped and fell onto the ground, but he made a mistake. Leaving himself open as he raised his sword, I kicked him hard in his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. I got back up as fast as possible, and thrusted my sword against his cheek, causing the sharp blade to cut the skin and make it bleed. Uther dropped his sword in defeat, as the fight was until first blood.

"Thuggory has twelve, Uther has eight!" Laelia laughed from the bench she was sitting on with Grenna, as they watched the fight and Ralph kept score with Hiccup. Uther and I went to clean our swords while Grenna started to get materials to clean off all the cuts we gave one another this time.

"You guys need to stop cutting each other like that, what if one of you forgets to clean their sword after a fight and cuts someone? You can get someone sick like that!" Grenna reprimanded us as she placed a bandage over my arm where Uther's last cut hit me. When she finished, she had a worried look on her face, but I just gave her my best smile which she just rolled her eyes at.

"Cut him harder Uther, maybe that'll teach him a lesson next time." Grenna spoke as she started to clean Uther up, starting with his cheek. She pressed her soaked cloth to his cheek, causing him to wince. I laughed and he glared at me.

"Can't take the pain Uther?" I teased him, and he snarled.

He was about to open his mouth and talk back, but Grenna slammed her foot onto his boot, daring him to speak and ruin her concentration into patching him up.

"If you even open that mouth of yours Uther. . ." Grenna let her threat hang into the air, forcing Uther to stay silent while I laughed at his struggle to get revenge at me, and out of Grenna's strong grip. "Stop teasing him Thuggory and clean this place up, you said you wanted to tell us something, right?" Grenna's pointed look forced me to get serious right away, motioning the others to clean up as I had to tell them about Hiccup's real reason of being here.

It didn't take long for us to clean and put everything away, as I stacked the last of the buckets into a corner and went to join Thuggory and Grenna's side as they faced the others who waited to see what they were meeting about this afternoon.

"Do you guys remember those rumors about a man riding a dragon?" Thuggory asked, watching his friends recall the rumors Johann brought not too long ago. They nodded slowly, not understanding where he was going with this information.

"We all know that's not true, I mean a dragon being ridden by Vikings is impossible." Uther laughed, and Laelia and Ralph joined him. Thuggory held up his hand to get their attention, and the laughter ceased immediately.

"After Dagur's crowning and Oswald's funeral, Dagur was given information by a tribe that dragons were being ridden by fellow Vikings. All hell broke loose after Dagur ordered a complete search of the ships. A raid came at the same time and suddenly we were surrounded by deadly dragons and hostile Berserker warriors. The only people we could trust were ourselves and the Bogs who helped us escape."

"Even if Dagur ordered a search, we Meatheads don't ride dragons." Laelia pointed out.

"You're right, but that's not all to the story." Grenna interrupted, focusing the attention back onto me.

I let out a breath before continuing. "When our ship met the water, we joined the Bog Burglars as a dragon rider came aboard their ship, tired and injured."

They were all silent and still, not showing any emotion or movement to the three of us. Their eyes though moved quickly, as their brains tried to make sense of the information that was just given to them. Ralph connected the dots and he stared right into my eyes, as his own held surprise and a hint of fear.

"Hiccup?" Ralph whispered in fear. I gave a short nod and I saw that Laelia and Uther were not as receptive like Ralph.

"You're lying, you have to be lying." Uther growled, his hand reaching for his sword.

"Stop sugarcoating it for us Thuggory, and tell it to us straight." Laelia spoke, her eyes narrowed in distrust. "What's Hiccup doing here?"

Thuggory snarled and threw his hands in the air. "Fine, Hiccup is the dragon rider we've been hearing about over the past year and him and the Bog-Burglars have been riding dragons since then!"

Uther pulled his sword out and Thuggory did the same. Laelia and Ralph stepped back in shock, I was pushed out of the way by Thuggory, and Grenna stepped in between the two bickering boys.

"Move, Grenna." Thuggory said.

"Are you asking me or telling me, dear fiancé?" Grenna was stubborn, that was for sure. She had her arms spread out, forcing both Uther and Thuggory to pause. I could hear Thuggory grind his teeth in frustration, not wanting to anger Grenna, but not wanting to betray his friend.

"You said your dad was working on a 'special project' that the Bogs were bringing onto Meathead territory. Hiccup came from the Bog-Burglars. Are you saying that we have to start riding dragons?" Uther's voice was full of anger and betrayal, the look in his eyes almost broke me.

"You don't _have_ to! Dad just wants Hiccup to take care of the dragons –" Thuggory tried reasoning with Uther, but was cut off by him.

"Stop right there. Have you even seen him tame a dragon?" Thuggory was silent at his question, knowing no matter what answer he gave him, wouldn't calm Uther's anger. Thuggory didn't reply, giving Uther the answer he already knew. I stepped in then, knowing this could either blow up in my face or work in my favor. Everyone stilled their movements as I gently pushed Grenna away to stand between Uther and Thuggory, mainly facing Uther to speak to him.

"I know you're feeling angry, betrayed is a better word I'll say." I started, as Uther lowered his sword to listen to me. "Imagine this: no violence between Vikings and dragons anymore. No more funerals or fake smiles to pretend that you're okay when someone you love is either hurt or injured. If you let me show you how I can make peace between dragons and us Vikings, will you at least let me explain everything in full?"

I waited as the tension left the group when Uther put his sword away, making Thuggory do the same. The rest of us let out a breath of relief, and everyone put their focus to me, waiting for me to say or do anything else that needed to be done. I gave everyone the short version of my time on Berk – excluding my treatment – and at the Bog-Burglar tribe, where my interest in dragons peaked and how I trained dragons to live side-by-side and vice versa. When I mentioned Toothless, confused looks crossed the group, excluding Grenna and Thuggory. I told them about Toothless, and surprisingly they were all silent, not one word or a whisper.

Uther was the first to break the stony silence, he clapped his hands once, giving Thuggory the hardest look I've ever seen in my life.

"You're insane. If you want to bring dragons onto my home, and ride them around like some freak, go for it. Let this be some triumph for you and Hiccup. But you will lose me and any form of friendship we've ever shared."

Thuggory widened his eyes in shock. "You know this is going to come to be, my dad already has the plans made."

Uther shook his head in disgust. "Good luck with your dragons, Thuggory. I hope they're worth it." Uther turned around and walked out, but I could tell he was shaking in anger. Laelia was next, her eyes wide with betrayal and distrust.

"You guys are sick, and I can't believe you would think dragons and Vikings can live together side-by-side. I'm out." Laelia walked out, not looking back or saying anything else. Ralph was last, his eyes full of confusion. He was a lot like Fishlegs, always curious about new things and enjoying brand new information. The only thing that was different was that Ralph stuck his hand in the mud every now and then to do whatever it took to protect the people he loved. Even though it was just a day, I could tell he was a strong and decent person.

"I don't know what to do or say." Those were the last words Ralph spoke, as he walked out of the arena with his hands in his hands.

It was just Grenna, Thuggory, and I now, alone and in the quiet Kill Ring. Thuggory was shaking, his anger clearly shown.

"Thuggory. . ." Grenna spoke, she was watching him, about to put her hands on his shoulders, but he was too fast. He swirled around and punched me as hard as possible. I fell onto the ground, clutching my bleeding nose.

"You better fix this; I won't lose anything else because of your idiocy." Thuggory walked out after that, with Grenna running after him, and with me all alone.


End file.
